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CMYK

Tuesday, 8 October, 2019 I 8 Safar-ul-Muzaffar, 1441 I Rs 19.00 I Vol X No 98 I 16 Pages I Islamabad Edition

PM IMran launches souP kItchens for the Poor ISLAMABAD

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staff report

rime minister imran Khan on monday inaugurated the ehsaasSaylani Langar Scheme — one of the projects of the government’s ehsaas Programme that aims to combat hunger throughout the country — in islamabad.

The scheme, which has been launched in coordination with the Saylani Trust, one of the country’s biggest welfare organisations, aims to provide hygienic food to the poor.

Speaking to the media on the occasion, ehsaas Programme’s head Dr Sania Nishtar said that the government intends to open 112 soup kitchens in the first phase of the scheme, which would be completed in a year. The soup kitchens will provide food to 600 people in the capital on a daily basis.

Dr Nishtar said that Prime minister imran had instructed that the food at the soup kitchens must be hygienic and provided to people in ample proportions “with respect”. “[The prime minister] has instructed that no person should go to bed hungry.

This ehsaas Langar programme has been launched in accordance with his wishes,” she told the people present.

“As you know that this is a huge task and the government cannot do this alone.

So we are signing an agreement with Saylani Trust welfare organisation, that enjoys a very good reputation, and together we will open 112 ehsaas Saylani Langar Khaney all over the country. The prime minister has ap-

proved this.

“You will be happy to know that this soup kitchen has been established within 10 days […] and we are positive that we will be able to open 112 soup kitchens within a short period of time.”

She said that the prime minister wanted every person in the country to sleep wellfed and under a shelter. Dr Nishtar recalled that the premier had ordered the launch of panahgahs for the homeless, that have now been opened across the country and now the government was establishing soup kitchens to feed the poor as well.

The founder of Saylani Trust, maulana Bashir Farooq Qadri, also spoke on the occasion and lauded the prime minister “for thinking about the poor and deprived” section of the society. He said that prime minister’s vision was that of the State of madina.

Prime minister imran congratulated Dr Nishtar as well as the Saylani Trust for initiating the programme and said that none of the previous administrations had spent on welfare as much as his own government.

He repeated his ambition to build a welfare state, based on the model of the state of madina, where the poor section of the society will be uplifted. He said that the government was striving to create opportunities for the business community in order to generate wealth that can be spent on people. He emphasised, however, that change would take time.

“People are impatient,” the prime minister said. “it’s only been 13 months and they ask ‘where is the state of madina’. The state of madina was not created within a day.”

‘no talks with india until Kashmir situation improves’

STORY ON BACK PAGE

Jui-f denies issuing 'instructions' on sodomy during 'azadi March' STORY ON BACK PAGE more inside

Nawaz challenges SC verdict in Arshad Malik video case STORY ON BACK PAGE

Pakistan rubbishes indian defence minister’s fatf remark STORY ON BACK PAGE

SC suspends ex-NA speaker Qasim Suri’s disqualification STORY ON PAGE 02

lhc acquits three convicts in murder case of nab chairman's parents STORY ON PAGE 02

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PM says govt is striving to create oPPortunities for business coMMunity in order to generate wealth that can be sPent on PeoPle

CMYK Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

02 ISLAMABAD

SC SuSPendS AnnulmenT noTIfICATIon of ex-nA dePuTy SPeAKeR QASIm SuRI ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

He Supreme Court (SC) on Monday suspended the decision of an election tribunal that nullified Qasim Suri’s election as well as the election Commission of Pakistan’s (eCP) decision to de-notify him as a member of the National Assembly.

Admitting Suri’s appeal for hearing, a three-member of the apex court headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial issued notices to the parties

in the case. The top court also asked the election commission not to issue the election schedule for NA-265 (Quetta-II).

In his appeal, filed by Naeem Bukhari, Suri had questioned the jurisdiction of the eCP to unseat him when it was not constituted properly since the five-member commission was short of two members.

On September 27, the Balochistan High Court election tribunal had declared the election of Suri, a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) from Balochistan, as void and ordered re-election in the con-

stituency.

Balochistan National Party’s (BNP) Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani had challenged Suri’s election, alleging rigging.

On Wednesday, the National Assembly session, which was scheduled to continue till October 4, was prorogued abruptly within minutes of its commencement. Members of the opposition alleged that the move was aimed at avoiding election to the vacant office of the deputy speaker.

The prorogation came hours after the eCP issued a notification of Suri’s unseating.

LHC acquits three convicts in murder case of NAB chairman's parents LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday acquitted three people, who had been sentenced to death by a sessions court in the murder case of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal’s parents, over lack of sufficient evidence.

In 2011, Javed’s parents were found murdered in their house, which was guarded round the clock. Police had said that Naveed Iqbal, who is the stepbrother of the incumbent NAB chairman, had killed the couple over a money dispute. Officials further said that Naveed was assisted by Abbas Shakir and Ameen Ali.

All three men were sentenced to death and fined Rs550,000 each by a sessions court in 2016 in the murder case of then Supreme Court judge Javed’s parents.

In its decision, a two-member bench said that there was not enough evidence against the earlier suspects to be held guilty and overturned the sessions court’s verdict.

In their appeal against the verdict by the sessions court, the men had said that they were arrested by the police over suspicion.

The appellants further said that there were no witnesses against them and the police had been unable to produce sufficient evidence before the court. They urged the high court to overturn the verdict and acquit them on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

Videogate case transferred to anti-terrorism court ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The video leak case of former accountability judge Arshad Malik took another turn on Monday when a cybercrimes court in Islamabad ordered to transfer the case to an anti-terrorism court (ATC) for further proceedings.

As the hearing of the case resumed on Monday, an investigation officer of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) informed the court that the suspects have been identified as Hamza Arif Butt and Faisal Shaheen. To this, the judge asked the officer about the claims made in the previous application. Responding to the court, the officer said same suspects were identified in the prior application.

In its response, the defence counsel pleaded to reject the transfer of the case to the ATC as terrorism clauses were inapplicable to the case. To this, the judge observed that clauses of terrorism had already been added in the case and therefore it needed to be transferred to the ATC. On Sept 30, the court expressed displeasure at the FIA for not submitting a final charge sheet in the said case. Subsequently, the court directed the agency to file the charge sheet by Oct 7. Subsequently, on Sept 23, a cybercrimes court judge, Tahir Mehmood Khan, directed the FIA to submit the charge sheet after the Agency, in an interim chargesheet, informed the court that the inquiry into the case had been transferred from the cyber crime wing to the counter-terrorism wing. The transfer of the inquiry happened on

the complaint of former judge Malik as the cybercrime wing released from its custody three suspects who allegedly blackmailed the judge.

Judge Malik had convicted Sharif in the Flagship reference. Later on, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz had released a video alleging that the judge was “under duress” to convict the former premier. However, in his affidavit, judge Malik accused Nasir Janjua, Mahar Ghulam Jilani and Khurram Yousaf of pressurising him because of his immoral video to get a favorable judgment. Following an inquiry by FIA, a local court had acquitted the three suspects over a lack of sufficient evidence. They had been sent on a five-day physical remand under the FIA custody for further investigation into the case. A judicial magistrate, Saqib Jawad, had ordered the removal of the trio from the case.

On Sept 2, the FIA had arrested Nasir Janjua, Mahar Ghulam Jilani and Khurram Yousaf from the cybercrime court following the dismissal of their pre-arrest bail. earlier, a civil judge, Shaista Kundi, had rescued herself from hearing proceedings against the suspects. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that judge Kundi was approached for the acquittal of the suspects from the concerned parties. However, she reported the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and excused herself from the case. Malik was removed from his position after the video was released and repatriated to the Lahore High Court (LHC) where disciplinary proceedings against him will be held.

CMYK

AJK woman killed by Indian sniper MUZAFFARABAD: Sniper fire from across the Line of Control (LoC) killed a woman outside her home in Abbaspur in AJ&K. Police official Zulqarnain Chaudhry said the woman was killed on Sunday and that the fire came from India, across the boundary in the disputed Himalayan region. The incident took place as US Senators Chris Van Hollen and Maggie Hassan along with their staffers and US Chargé d’Affaires Ambassador Paul Jones were visiting Muzaffarabad to “see the ground situation and gauge public sentiment” following the illegal actions taken by India in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Tensions between Pakistan and India escalated following the Indian government’s decision to unilaterally revoke Article 370 of its constitution, which granted special autonomy to occupied Kashmir. A communications blackout and heavy restrictions on movement imposed by the Indian authorities from the eve of this development have been in place for over two months now. STAFF REPORT

Report reveals PIA wasted food worth millions in last 3 years A new report reveals that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), despite running already in loss, wasted food amounting to almost Rs100 million in a period of three years. According to the report, sometime back, PIA transferred an amount of $65000 into the account of a man as an overflying bill for Turkmenistan. This shady transfer has no substantative reason attached to it but was never probed by the officials. The report also sheds light on the PIA’s kitchen spendings, and according to it, in a period of three years, food worth Rs10 million was bought and then never used in airlines. The huge loss persistent for three years clearly shows the recklessness of concerned officials as after loss borne in the first year the loss of the next two years could have been averted by planning better and bringing this into the attention of higher authority. As per the report, a total of 5,558,284 passengers travelled on the airline from 2013 to 2015 and the food arrangements were made for 6,072,839 passengers. Additional food bought for over 0.5m passengers cost PIA approximately Rs70m. At Lahore Airport alone the wastage of food cost PIA’s kitty over Rs40m. In conclusion, the report held the PIA administration responsible for this loss. PIA was apprised about these losses in 2016 and then again in November 2018, but no one paid any heed. NEWS DESK

CMYK Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

NEWS

03

WHy IS fAzLur reHmAN mArCHINg oN THe CApITAL? I

KK SHAHID

sign, neither party has expressed willingness to join the JUI-F’s march on the capital, as yet.

With the PML-N being in government when the PTI launched its fourmonth-long protest in Islamabad in 2014, and the PPP being critical of Khan’s ‘container politics’ as well, both parties are having to reconcile their stance against the demonstration at the time and their need for the PTI government to be compromised.

But once Rehman announced the protest date, think-tanks in both leading opposition parties were sparked into action with meetings being called to underline the exact extent of their respective involvement in what the JUI-F chief is dubbing an ‘Azadi’ [freedom] March.

“The PPP believes that the government has undermined democracy and parliamentary norms. It has been a complete failure, at home and internationally, especially on the economic and governance fronts. [The PPP] will play its due role in the best interests of the nation,” said PPP leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, who is the spokesperson of party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

N a charged press conference in Peshawar on Saturday, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman declared ‘war’ against the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf government, announcing a protest rally in Islamabad on October 27.

Rehman had been vowing a protest in the capital for months, asking the government to step down if it didn’t want a rally to converge in the capital Islamabad.

The JUI-F chief, who also leads the Islamist coalition Muttahida Majlis-eAmal (MMA), has alleged over the past year that PTI’s election triumph in July 2018 was a result of mass scale rigging, maintaining that Prime Minister Imran Khan does not have the legitimacy to rule. Rehman’s movement has been backed by the two largest opposition parties – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which have held multi-parties conference under the leadership of the JUI-F. While the PML-N and PPP both echo the claims that Khan’s government is illegitimate and that the premier should re-

Meanwhile, for the PML-N, Rehman’s protest call has resulted in the resurfacing of the divides between Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, with party insiders maintaining that like many other subjects, the two brothers differ over the degree of the party’s involvement in the upcoming rally.

“A majority of the party members are on board when it comes to joining the march. But of course the party leadership will take the final decision,” says senior PML-N leader Pervaiz Rashid. The former information minister Rashid belongs to the Nawaz camp within the party, with Shehbaz loyalists maintaining that the PML-N president doesn’t agree with his elder brother and three-time premier.

While the PML-N and the PPP would announce their plans in the coming days, the greatest question surrounding the ‘Azadi March’ remains over Fazlur Rehman’s goals.

Rehman and his party members maintain that after benefitting from rigged elections, the PTI government has singlehandedly crippled the national economy, and hence the JUI-F would go all out to take down the government.

“At least 100,000 people would participate in the Azadi March. It would be a record gathering. It will be a peaceful protest but if the government initiates a crackdown against us, the workers are ready to resist it. The workers are ready to face anything,” said JUI-F leader habibur Rehman.

While the JUI-F leadership maintains that election rigging, financial crisis and bad governance is the motivation behind the rally, analysts believe that Rehman only has his own political at heart while organising the ‘Azadi March’. “he is trying to increase his relevance in Pakistani politics. he used to be very relevant in the two previous civilian governments [of the PML-N and the PPP] and even during the rule of [military ruler] Pervez Musharraf,” says political scientist hasan Askari Rizvi, the former caretaker chief minister of Punjab.

“But after being side-lined recently, he thinks can reassert his presence this way, because he knows that there is a dissatisfaction [among the masses] against the government’s policies and the two largest opposition parties have their grievances as well– and he’s looking to

Imran jets off to China on two-day visit ISLAMABAD

Army CHIef reACHeS CHINA oN offICIAL vISIT

STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan departed for China on Monday on a two-day official visit in order to discuss issues of regional and bilateral importance with the Chinese leadership.

According to his schedule, the premier will hold separate meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang wherein he will discuss the expansion of projects under the China-Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC) and cooperation in the agriculture, industrial and socio-economic sectors. Prime Minister Imran’s visit to China acquires significance as it comes days ahead of President Xi’s planned high-profile visit to India to take part in the 2nd informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week.

Last week, Prime Minister Imran said that the removal of all bottlenecks in CPeC projects and their timely completion was the top priority of the government. Amid a reported slowdown on much-hyped Corridor, the Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Makhdoom Khusro Bakht Yar

File Photo

on Sunday said Pakistan would engage China at the highest level for talks on several big projects in the fields of hydropower, oil refinery and steel mills.

Reports emerged a day earlier that the prime minister is expected to offer the management of cash-strapped Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) to China amid continuous losses.

“The government is exploring different options including G2G (government-to-government) deal with China as the government cannot absorb losses on a consistent basis,” a publication said citing sources, adding that overall accu-

NAB finalises reference against ex-pm Abbasi, others in LNg case The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has finalised references against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former finance minister Miftah Ismail and former PSO managing director Sheikh Imranul haq in the LNG case. According to a news channel, InterState Gas Systems Managing Director Mubin Saulat and former petroleum secretary Abid Saeed, who became an approver in the LNG corruption case, recorded their statements before NAB officials on Monday. The two also submitted all relevant evidence with the investigators. An accountability court on September 26 had sent Abbasi and Ismail to Adiala jail on judicial remand. earlier on September 11, NAB Karachi had requested to file a reference against Abbasi. NEWS DESK

RAWALPINDI: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa reached China on Monday on an official visit, the director-general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said. During the visit, the COAS would join Prime Minister Imran Khan for a meeting with the Chinese prime minister and the president, Maj Gen Ghafoor said in a Twitter post. According to him, the Army chief would meet Chinese military leadership, including People Liberation Army (PLA) Army Commander, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Commander Southern Theater Command. PM Imran was expected to discuss regional and bilateral issues with the Chinese leadership. STAFF REPORT mulated losses of once the most profitable state-owned entity, the PSM, soared to Rs220 billion.

During the premier’s visit, the two sides will also discuss the “immediate implementation” of the second phase of the China-Pakistan free trade agreement (FTA). They will also discuss the abolition of the quota for all Pakistani agro products.

The prime minister is also expected

to address the Pak-China Business Forum in Beijing and to meet with Chinese entrepreneurs as well as the heads of different companies.

This is the premier’s third visit to China in less than a year.

In April, he visited Beijing to attend the second Belt and Road Forum and for talks with the Chinese leadership on the expanded CPeC. his first official visit had come in November last year.

JKLF determined to reach LoC The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) on Monday asked the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government to remove the containers at the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar highway which had obstructed the movement of their march towards the Line of Control (LoC) since Sunday, warning that the marchers would otherwise continue to stage a sit-in before the hurdles for “an indefinite period”.“The AJK government should remove the hurdles and allow the marchers to cross the ceasefire line (LoC) or else the sit-in will continue at this place for an indefinite period,” said Mohammad Rafiq Dar, central spokesperson for JKLF, at a press conference in Jiskool, located 8 kilometres before the LoC, where the administration had placed containers, barbed wires, electricity poles and mounds of earth to block the march.

“Otherwise, the government should bring here any special representative of the United Nations Secretary General as well as representatives of the five permanent UN Security Council members so that we are able to give them our charter of demands,” added Dar, who was flanked by JKLF’s ailing acting chairman Abdul hameed Butt and other leaders. “how can we lead a normal life here when our brothers and sisters across the ceasefire line are going through nightmarish conditions at the hands of the Indian army,” he questioned.

The JKLF spokesman said the best option in the prevailing situation was the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces in Jammu and Kashmir until a plebiscite was

cash in on that.” Political analyst Umair Jamal argues that Rehman’s alienation with the establishment has increased over the years. “JUI-F falling out with the military has grown over the last few years with PM Khan’s government making it worse for the party. Particularly, JUI-F local politics has been challenged by the PTI which the former believes cannot survive or could have been in power in the first place without the military support.

JUI-F has no other option but to launch a protest to gain leverage or negotiate with the military,” he says.

Observers also note Rehman regularly warning the government against taking action against the madrassas, with Imran Khan vowing to mainstream over 30,000 seminaries and bring them under state control. experts argue that Rehman and the JUI-F extract much of their political and street clout from these madrassas. “he wants to continue getting political dividends from the religious following, but he doesn’t have the support of the other religious parties. The government is already negotiating with other parties that are managing the madrassas,” says hasan Askari Rizvi.

Cabinet to monitor performance of lobbyists in uS Though the federal cabinet, in its meeting on Friday, expressed reservations about the performance of two lobbyists or Public Relations (PR) firms working in the US to defend Pakistan’s interests, yet it has approved release of Rs240 million for this image-building effort. According to information, the cabinet advised the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to continually audit the performance of these firms on quarterly basis after the officials concerned presented a summary proposing a release of Rs246m to the two firms. The cabinet ministers stressed that contracts with these firms should be renewed based on their performance and achievements. According to reports, the ministry officials maintained that the firms were shortlisted after a competitive process and their performances are reviewed after every three months. The contracts with the firms would be extended if they protect the interests of Pakistan while failure to meet the desired outcomes will lead to termination of their services, the ministry said. After assurances of the ministry, the cabinet endorsed the economic Coordination Committee’s (eCC) August 28 decision and approved release of Rs246m. NEWS DESK

Bilawal hopes for early presentation of zainab Alert Bill in NA ISLAMABAD APP

held to ascertain the opinion of Kashmiris about their future. he said other demands would be shared soon in the shape of a memorandum. The JKLF led marchers had reached Jiskool on Sunday afternoon to be greeted by the road blockades. While a majority of them returned to Chinari and other rear areas to spend the night, the leaders and many others took shelter under a big canopy that was erected on the main road late at night.

On Sunday night, two AJK cabinet members had also tried to convince the JKLF leaders to call off their march, but to no avail. NEWS DESK

CMYK

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday hoped that Zainab Alert Bill will soon be tabled in the National Assembly (NA). Talking to media after chairing a meeting of the NA Standing Committee on human Rights, Bilawal said we need to take concrete steps to stop child abuse cases. “Only bills will not be enough for this cause.” On rights violations in occupied Kashmir, the committee said the government has raised the issue in an effective manner across the globe. Bilawal expressed dissatisfaction over the briefing of the committee related to the media’s right of expression.

04 LAHORE

Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

WEATHER UPDATES 0 TUESDAY

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T20 maTches disrupTing ciTy life Commuters faCe issues due to road bloCkades, poor traffiC management CriCket fans satisfied with government’s arrangements for the t20 series LAHORE FIDA HUSSNAIN/SHAHAB OMER

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eSPITe government’s claims of effectively managing the traffic during T20 matches between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the citizens of the provincial capital faced serious issues on the second day due to blockades and diversions on all main roads leading to Qaddafi Stadium.

Forman Christian College University’s (FCCU) parking lot was used by the government for providing parking space to the spectators as it is the closest to the stadium. A shuttle service was also used to transport people from the parking lot to the stadium.

However, amidst all this sense of facilitating people, the greatest sacrifice was given by those who use the Metro Bus for their daily commute, as the service had been suspended for security reasons. A large number of policemen were deputed for security of the Sri Lankan team at The Mall as well, leading to the road being totally blocked from Davis Road to Governor House. This hampered all public and commercial activities in the area.

Ashfaq Qayyum, a resident of Gulberg,

mnCh employees protest for regularisation LAHORE SHAHAB OMER

The employees of Maternal and Newborn Child Health Programme of Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department protested in front of civil secretariat for the regularisation, scale upgradation and salary increments but their demands were rejected by DG Health. Staff members, including secu-

told this scribe that he had faced a lot of difficulty while commuting to his office at The Mall. “I faced the same issues on the day of the first T20 and I thought things would get better on the second and third days but the issues continue to persist,” he said, adding that compromising public’s lives for the sake of a cricket match seems “unreasonable”.

“I could not get to my office in time and was marked absent for the day. It was not even my fault,” he added. Salim Bahadur, a resident of Ichra, said, “I could not send my children to school because the roads were blocked and the traffic was congested in other areas. I fail to understand why the city is locked down for a cricket match.” “They should move cricket activities away from the city if they are so concerned about cricket,” he added. While some criticised the government for making the lives of the people miserable, there were those who were willing to pay the price. Asma Sohail, a cricket fan who was walking towards Qaddafi Stadium, said, “I do not mind if the roads are blocked because our favourite sport has returned to the city. Instead of criticising the administration, people should appreciate the efforts of the government.”

“I parked my car at FCCU parking and

rity guards, women and their children staged the demonstration in the morning while holding banners and chanting the demands. Traffic remained congested because of the protest and the public had to face serious issues in commuting on the roads around Civil Secretariat.

A five-member team, including DG health, project director of the program and others held dialogue with the protestors but they could not find any solution to their demands. A protester told this scribe that they had been working in MNCH on contractual basis for a long time but they were feeling insecure about their jobs considering the

used the shuttle service to get here. The service was smooth and I am happy with the arrangements,” she said. Muhammad Kaleem, another cricket enthusiast, said, “I live near Canal Road and parked my vehicle in the parking area designated at Punjab University. The arrangements are quite good and I am happy that cricket has returned to the city. I hope the government will soon revive other festivals such as Basant.”

PARKING AND SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS: The designated parking sites for the T20 matches were located at FCCU’s parking lot, Liberty Market’s parking lot, Punjab University’s hostel parking space, Jam-e-Shireen Park’s parking, LDA Parking Plaza and Sunfort Hotel’s parking space. Free shuttle service from parking spaces to the stadium was also being provided to the spectators. Moreover, as per the traffic plan, the Canal Road remained open for all kinds of traffic and the commuters from Firdous Market were able to move towards Hussain Chowk, M M Alam Road, Mini Market to-

economic conditions of the country, which is why they want the department to regularise their employment.

Another female protester said, “There is a price hike in the country but our salaries have not been increased and it is very difficult for us to meet our basic needs. We demand that the government should increase our salaries.”

DG Health Dr Haroon Jahangir told this scribe that the staff working under this programme is contractual. “As this is not a regular project, therefore, the staff cannot be regularised on their respective posts. If they do not finish their protest they all will be terminated,” he said.

wards Main Boulevard and Siddique Trade Centre while commuters were able to move towards Firdous Market via Kalma Chowk and Barkat Market via Centre Point.

Furthermore, as per the traffic plan, the commuters from Fawara Chowk near Siddique Trade Centre were able to move towards Jail Road from Quratba Chowk and Ferozpur Road via Wahdat Road while Walton Road was used for moving towards Cantt and Mughalpura from Kahna and Kot Lakhpat. Lahore DIG Operations Ashfaq Khan inspected the security arrangements at the stadium and checked the security at entry gates of the stadium. Speaking to Pakistan Today, "We are coordinating with all government departments for the management of security for the matches. We are also monitoring the movement of the teams through the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) cameras."

Nearly 3 SPs, 11 DSPs, 700 inspectors and more than 13,000 policemen had been deputed for security purposes.

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Two killed in firing on vehicle, relaTive dies of cardiac arresT SHEIKHUPURA INP

Two people were killed after unidentified gunmen opened fire at their vehicle on Monday.

Police said that four armed men, who were in a car, fired bullets at the car near a canal in the suburbs of Sheikhupura.

Following the incident, the attackers fled the scene. Following an FIR of the case against unidentified assailants, city police started an investigation.

Separately, a relative of one of the deceased died of cardiac arrest after receiving news of the incident.

Students of Lucy Harrison School and clergy of Raiwind Diocese appeal for justice in the Edwards College Peshawar issue. pr

30,000 doctors, medical staff inducted in punjab this year: dr Yasmeen LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid on Monday said the department has inducted 30,000 new doctors and medical staff in the current fiscal year.

She said this during a visit to Wazirabad Institute of Cardiology in Gujranwala. The minister said the PTI government is bringing revolution in the health sector, as at least 7.2 million health cards have been distributed among the deserving people in the first phase. Dr Rashid said the department is making the Wazirabad Institute of Cardiology fully functional by providing 200 beds. Replying to a query, she said the government is trying its best to overcome the dengue outbreak in the province and the patients are being provided free of cost treatment and the anti-dengue spray is also underway. She urged Maulana Fazlur Rehman to take out long march for the Kashmir as he remained the chairman of the Kashmir Committee.

Shedding the light on the measures being taken by the federal government to control over increasing inflation, the minister said practical steps are being taken to improve the situation. She also lashed out the past government for controlling inflation through ‘temporary measures’. STAFF REPORT

Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

IllegAl APPoINTmeNTS IN moST To RemAIN oN AgeNDA lIST ISLAMABAD

T

GHULAM ABBAS

HE Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) Secretary Nasim Nawaz has suggested the Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology to focus on discussing important issues instead of priorising illegal appointments and promotions by making them agendas during committee meetings.

During the committee meeting that took place here on Monday, two of the agendas were regarding illegal appointments and promotions in various departments of the ministry.

Chaired by Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, the meeting was attended by Senator Gul Bashra, Senator Syed Muhammad Sabir Shah, Senator Hidayatullah, Senator Muhammad Asad Ali Khan Junejo, as well as senior officers from COMSATS University and the MoST. Secretary Nasim Nawaz suggested for discussions on individual issues like promotions, the illegal appointments to be avoided as there were other relevant forums to take up such issues. “There are rules, regulations to deal with such cases,” he said.

However, his suggestion was rejected by the senators who said that issues related to illegal appointments and promotions had

been pending for over 17 years.

“We are not particularly interested in discussing these issues here but illegal activities in the ministry along with complaints of affected people force us to take up such matters during the meetings,” Committee Chairman Mushtaq Ahmed said.

“How can we ignore the illegal activity of appointing BS-17, 18 officers illegally at Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority (PSQCA),” said Senator Mandhro.

The committee later deferred the two agendas for next meeting.

Interestingly the secretary MoST was supposed to submit his reply over pending cases at the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) related to “corruption, malpractice, misuse of authority/illegal appointments/ promotion/violation, recruitment process/irregularities/illegal promotion without DPC in BPS-19 holding two posts, manipulating/tempering of records, illegal/irrelevant training abroad and also assets beyond known source of income”.

Earlier, former MoST secretary Yasmin Masood had also made excuses of loopholes in law and regulations when the senate body had highlighted corruption cases in the ministry.

NAB to quiz Shehbaz Sharif at his residence on Tuesday LAHORE STAFF REPORT

A combined investigation team (CIT) of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore will interrogate Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif at his residence on Tuesday (Today) in Waste Management Company (LWMC) scam and income beyond means investigation. According to sources familiar with the matter, Sharif has been informed by the accountability watchdog and a questionnaire for him has already been prepared for further interrogation in the corruption cases against him. Sharif had been skipping NAB hearings on poor health grounds. The questionnaire contains several questions about the LWMC, including why he had approved a summary for constitution of the waste management company against the recommendations of finance and law ministries? “Why it was necessary to form a new company while Solid Waste Management’s PMU was actively performing same functions?” “Whether feasibility study was performed about the company, including its sustainability and low-cost expenditures and research on its profits?” “Had he followed all the legal requirements for the creation of a new company?” “Why had he decided to constitute the company? Why IS Tech Company had been given contract without completing the auction process and legal formalities?” “Who had authorised outsourcing the contract to the IS Tech Company for $320 million?”

“Why was it decided to lend massive amounts and financial assistance to the company without a comprehensive plan?” “Why LWMC’s plan to repay its debt and generate capital was rejected?”

The accountability watchdog further noted that these illegal actions caused a loss of billions of rupees to the provincial exchequer. The bureau has further identified trail of suspicious transactions into the bank accounts of Sharif, and has sought him to produce sources of those amounts transacted.

It may be mentioned here that at the beginning of the meeting, the committee took strong notice of the absence of Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry and asserted that the meeting will be called off in protest and privilege motion will be moved if he fails to attend the next time.

“We only find Fawad Chaudhry on television channels.

He usually ignores the committee meetings of parliament,” said Senator Sassui Palijo. The committee later decided to give strong message to the minister in case he neglects the committee next time.

“We, in protest will not hold meeting of the committee,” the committee chairman said. Further, COMSATS rector gave a briefing to the members on the status of the university and its challenges.

The committee was informed of the university’s academic courses and distribution. The Organogram was discussed in great detail as well. It was observed that student enrollment had vastly increased from 277 in 2000 to 36,599 in 2019. Faculty and staff strength had increased considerably as well.

Currently, the total faculty includes 2,792 staff members.

In terms of achievements the committee was informed that the university has been involved in research and development of military

hardware.

It was also revealed that the university stands 14th amongst South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries which is a great achievement. It has received several awards including two Global Good Governance Awards and 15 National Civil Awards.

While discussing budget issues it was revealed that 80 per cent budgets is expended in salaries, HEC support fund cut was observed to impact Rs252 million, inflation annual impact was estimated to be Rs575 million. GOP allowance has been Rs70 million.

Senator Sassui Palijo said that a recommendation must be sent to the ministry and a resolution must be passed in this regard.

Senator Sabir Shah said that the budget cut issue must be taken up solely in the next meeting. He recommended for the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education to be summoned. It was asserted that issues of other science universities including National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) must be discussed as well.

Senator Mushtaq Ahmed declared that a single agenda meeting on budget will be conducted and recommendations of the VC Committee on the issue must be submitted to the Science and Technology Committee.

NA panel expresses concern over absence of PEMRA policy to regulate electronic media ISLAMABAD APP

The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting Monday expressed concern that Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) was unable to regulate electronic media channels due to absence of solid policy.

The committee directed that PEMRA may come up with the proposals to remove lacunas in the existing legislation to streamline the system of private media channels in order to bring identical system in the country.

The committee directed that Ministry of Information and Broadcasting may strengthen the PEMRA Council of Complaints for timely compensation of aggrieved media persons as It had been reported that thousands of media persons had been dislodged from their services from different private channels without serving any notice during the recent past which created huge resentment among the media persons and directed that ministry may introduce effective legislation to provide jobs security to the media persons so that they could work more effectively for the welfare of the country.

Earlier, the ministry briefly apprised the com-

mittee about the mandate and scope of activities of PEMRA. It was informed that PEMRA had imposed fine worth Rs15 million on various channels during the last 06 months whereas 600 cases were pending before the different courts for adjudication.

Javeria Zafar Aheer, MNA presided over the meeting in the absence of the chairman.

The meeting was attended by Engr Usman Khan Tarakai, MNAs Nasir Khan Zai, Muhammad Akram Cheema, Aftab Jahangir, Syed Aminul-Haque, Nadeem Abbas, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Maiza Hameed, Dr Nafisa Shah, Naz Baloch, and Amjad Ali Khan, mover of the Bill and officials of information and broadcasting ministry.

NEWS

05

PTI leader Abul Hassan resigns over differences with Tareen Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Additional Secretary General Abu Hassan Ansari on Monday resigned from his party position after developing differences with former secretary general Jahangir Khan Tareen over the party’s constitution, according to media reports. Reports in the local media said that Hassan, who is the author of the PTI’s party constitution 2019, was allegedly being forced by Tareen to amend the constitution as per his recommendations. The two also had multiple verbal spats during party meetings, the reports added. Hassan submitted his resignation to PTI Chief Organiser Saifullah Niazi, reports said, adding that no decision has been taken on the resignation as PTI chief, Prime Minister Imran Khan has told the party’s top brass that he will take up the matter after his return from China.

“In view of the controversy created in the party leadership in the wake of Constitution Review Committee meeting, I feel it appropriate to tender my resignation from the post of Additional Secretary General to pave the way for somebody more suitable for the changing environment,” read the resignation letter. “I would like to thank you and all the colleagues in the central governing body for the utmost respect and cooperation,” the brief letter sent to the chief organiser read. NEWS DESK

IHC issues stay order on 200pc hike in Islamabad property tax ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued restraining order against 200 per cent hike in property tax in the federal capital. A bench of the high court issued stay order on a petition filed by Jamaat-e-Islami challenging unprecedented raise in tax over Islamabad properties. The bench summoned the Revenue Director, Capital Development Authority (CDA) in person and also ruled that the parties should submit their written replies in court before the next hearing. The court issued notices to the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) and CDA with orders to submit their replies. The counsel of the petitioner argued that the metropolitan corporation has increased property tax by unprecedented 200 %, and pleaded to the court to declare the tax hike decision as null and void. JI deputy emir Mian Muhammad Aslam was appeared in the court with his counsel for the case. The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) had approved the hike in property tax in last December, making it applicable from July 1st in current year. But the property tax bills issuance was delayed due to the issue of jurisdiction over the revenue directorate, between the MCI and the CDA. The metropolitan corporation later while extended the last date for submission of property tax till October 31. STAFF REPORT

Dengue fever kills two more in Islamabad, Rawalpindi ISLAMABAD: Dengue fever has killed two more persons in Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Monday. The death toll has risen to 13. At least 5,000 patients in Islamabad and 6,976 in Rawalpindi have been tested positive for the disease. Three more persons in Faisalabad have been affected by dengue fever as the total number of sufferers has surged to 116 in the city. The disease is on a rapid rise in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as well where 4,406 patients have been tested positive so far. 2,058 people are affected in Peshawar, 380 in Swat, 185 in Mansehra and 215 in Swabi. STAFF REPORT

Govt to launch 'Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship' project next week: Dr Sania ISLAMABAD APP

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar Monday said the government would launch Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship (EUS) project during next week to facilitate needy students in getting education.

“The project would be formally launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan after his return from China,” she said while addressing a news conference along with President Saylani Welfare International Trust (SWIT) Yousaf Lakhani.

Terming the EUS one of the most important initiatives of the Ehsaas programme, she said the government was fully aware of the education needs of children of the under privileged families of remote areas.

Under the Ehsaas programme, Dr Sania said more than 130 policies and initiatives were being executed for well-

being of the common man and living standard of downtrodden segments of the society.

She said the government in collaboration with private sector would establish as many as 112 Ehsaas Langars points across the country to feed the poor and laborers, over a period of two years, adding the first-one had already been inaugurated by the prime minister at Sector G-9 of the federal capital.

She said the Langar project was in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan who wanted that no person in the country should sleep with empty stomach and under the open sky.

Dr Sania said the Langars would be opened in collaboration with SWIT, where the needy would be provided quality meal in a dignified manner without hurting their ego.

She thanked the prime minister for his supervision and guidance in making the Langar scheme a reality, adding it would benefit the deprived class by ex-

CMYK

tending them ‘clean charity feeding space’ on daily basis free of charge.

“The recent Langer scheme is a continuation of our religious and cultural legacy as well and it will not only provide relief to the needy but will also add value to the lives of daily laborers and those earning low incomes,” she said.

She said the need of Ehsaas Langer was pivotal, as poverty was the fundamental phenomenon behind multidimensional problem in the country. This has been aggravated by the lack of basic needs to the common man.

Dr Sania said such deprivations restricted individuals from participating in economic activity and improving their standard of life, keeping them trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty.

She said this joint initiative was also aimed at broadening the circle of social responsibility by the citizen.

To a question, she said the recently inaugurated Ehsaas Langar center was providing two-time meal to around 600

people 1200 to 1400 hours and 18:30 to 20:30 hours on daily basis.

She said the government would also launch an Ehsaas App within the period of one month that would help philanthropists to more actively participate in social welfare activities.

Answering a question, Dr Sania said the assessment was very important to open a Langar center, adding more facilities would be provided in Rawalpindi and Islamabad after identification of the points.

Replying to another question about integrate the Langar project with Ehsaas Shelter Homes, she said it would vary case to case but all other facilities like getting forms for health and financial schemes would be available at the location of Langar.

About the database of needy, Dr Sania said the government was trying to compile it, which would further improve with the passage of time, adding that media and masses should visit these Langar sites and give suggestions for improvement.

Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

06 WORLD VIEW New York Times

B

MAriA Abi-hAbib

Y the time an angry Muslim mob stormed the local Hindu school and ransacked an adjacent temple a few weeks ago, many members of Pakistan’s dwindling Hindu minority had already been wondering whether it was worth trying to stay in a country where they felt increasingly unsafe.

In April, an angry mob vandalized a different Hindu temple, smashing its idols and chucking the pieces in an open sewer. In May, a Hindu veterinarian was accused of blasphemy in a neighboring town, his shop burned to the ground on the rumor that he was selling medicine wrapped in Islamic religious text.

More than 70 years after the partition of India and Pakistan, increasing violence in this officially Muslim country against the Hindu minority — about 1 percent of Pakistan’s 210 million people — is leading some Hindus to rethink the choices and fate that left their families on the Pakistani side of the line in 1947, residents say.

“Most of our elders at the time of partition did not migrate to India because they did not want to lose their businesses. But now they see it was the wrong decision,” said Kumar, a small-business owner from Ghotki District in Pakistan’s Sindh Province, where the attacks unfolded on Sept. 15. He asked that his last name be withheld, fearing mob vi-

Hard times Have Pakistani Hindus looking to india, wHere some find only disaPPointment

olence. “I am considering moving to India, where at least no one can kill me on the basis of my faith,” he said.

The trepidation among Pakistani Hindus is mirrored in many ways among the Muslim minority in India, where a campaign of Hindu nationalism led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party has left many Muslims feeling targeted. Sectarian fears in both India and Pakistan always peak during times of tension, and hostility between the neighbors is running particularly high right now.

In Pakistan, local officials say the pressure for Hindus to weigh moving to India has not been this great since a wave of sectarian violence led many to migrate in the 1990s, after a Hindu mob in India tore down a 16th-century mosque, the Babri Masjid, leading to retaliatory attacks in Pakistan.

The current migration is because of Mr. Modi’s open appeals to Hindu identity in India, they say, stripping the country of the secular framework it was founded on to give supremacy to their religion. Since Mr. Modi’s election victory, Pakistani Hindus say they have had an easier time obtaining religious or pilgrimage visas to India, which they can then convert to long-term visas if they seek Indian citizenship.

Though the exact number of Hindu migrants is hard to pin down, indications of a wider push to go to India can be seen in the numbers of those long-term visas.

In 2018, the Indian government

granted 12,732 long-term visas, compared with 4,712 in 2017, and 2,298 in 2016, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

About 95 percent of long-term visas are granted to Pakistani Hindus, officials say.

Millions of Hindus remained in Pakistan when Britain carved out the state from the subcontinent to create a Muslim homeland at independence in 1947. They were unwilling to abandon their homes and businesses, like the millions of Muslims who ended up on the Indian side during partition, where now about 200 million live.

But angry sectarian mobs on both sides of the border sought to change those demographics at the nations’ birth, killing up to two million people and displacing 14 million. Trains packed with terrified Muslims and Hindus fleeing in opposite directions on the railway between India and Pakistan arrived full of corpses, passengers massacred mid-journey.

Train service between the countries was suspended when they went to war in 1965 and 1971, but eventually resumed.

Last month, Pakistan suspended India-bound trains once again, protesting New Delhi’s move to strip the autonomy from the Indian Held Kashmir.

Even among Pakistani Hindus who are considering going to India, there are very real reasons to hesitate.

Kumar is one who is torn.

Though he was shaken by the re-

cent violence in his hometown, he said he was still reluctant to pick up and leave when the trains start running again. He has said goodbye to neighbors who have migrated to India, only to see them return to Pakistan months or years later, disappointed.

Bhagchand Bheel is one of the disappointed. When he migrated to India in 2014, he was grateful to leave the violence and pressure of Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial hub. He boarded the Thar Express to Zero Point Station, the last stop before the border, where he and his family lugged their bags by foot into India, settling in a camp in the city of Jodhpur.

He was among his people, he thought, and could finally be free.

But he is of a lower caste, and when he tried to enter a Hindu temple, he was barred entry by the priest because of it, he said. And when a friend tried to drink from the community water well, he was physically assaulted by upper caste Brahmins who accused him of polluting it.

“In Pakistan, the only thing that matters is if you are Hindu or Muslim,” said Mr. Bheel, whose last name is derived from his tribe. “Because we are Hindus, in Pakistan we were discriminated against. But in India, I face discrimination because I’m a Bheel.”

Like many Pakistani Hindus, Mr. Bheel migrated after Mr. Modi came to power in 2014, after a long campaign promoting Hindu nationalism.

Muslims in India say life has gotten progressively harder for them, too. Mr. Modi’s government is accused of turning a blind eye to the scores of Muslim men lynched by Hindu mobs. When an 8-year old Muslim girl was gang raped and killed in Indian Held Kashmir last year by Hindu men, local police officers allegedly helped cover up the crime.

But despite the discrimination Muslims face in India, they do not tend to migrate to Pakistan in the numbers their Hindu counterparts in Pakistan do. Indian Muslims tend to migrate to the West instead.

In the Al Kausar Nagar migrant camp in Jodhpur, huts made out of thin, wispy branches, like birds’ nests, nestle in clusters, with quilts with vibrant Pakistani tribal designs hanging off their sides.

Bands of Pakistani Hindu women crouch over unfinished quilts, stitching away, hoping to sell them in the market to wealthier Indians. They complain that they receive little government assistance, siphoning what little electricity and water they can off municipal lines, and that the quality of public schooling for their children is not as good as it is in Pakistan, a main source of grievance for the many who migrated to give their children better opportunities.

This is not the Hindu paradise they had crossed the border to join, they said. This is not the India Mr. Modi promised them.

Pompeo might go down as the worst secretary of state CNN AAron DAviD Miller AnD richArD SokolSky

On December 19, 1985, Secretary of State George Shultz rocked the Reagan administration by publicly threatening to resign. The matter was not over policy, but principle. Shultz was taking a stand against Reagan's plan to expand the use of polygraph tests to as many as 180,000 government employees — including 4,500 from the State Department — in an effort to crack down on leaks. Just one day after Shultz took a stand, Reagan backed down.

Shultz represents the gold standard for a secretary of state defending his department. It's hard to see current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo taking a page from Shultz's playbook. It appears that if there's anything Pompeo learned from his predecessor Rex Tillerson, it's not to oppose President Donald Trump or make him unhappy.

We have worked for a half dozen secretaries of state in both Republican and Democratic administrations and rarely if ever have we encountered one more ill-suited for the job. Pompeo, who seems to be motivated by his own political ambitions and his desire to keep his job, has produced little of real consequence to advance the nation's interest. If he continues on his current trajectory, Pompeo may end up being remembered as the worst secretary of state in modern times.

To be fair, Pompeo works for a mercurial and undisciplined President who trusts and empowers no one, interferes in foreign policy when his vanity and mood swings move him, and sees everything through the lens of his own personal and political

needs. It may well be that no secretary of state can navigate these turbulent waters.

After John Bolton was ousted as national security adviser, Pompeo became the most influential foreign policy voice in Washington after Trump.

And yet it appears Pompeo is either unwilling or incapable of using that influence to advise the President.

There is no speaking truth to power here. Pompeo seems unwilling to apply any brakes on Trump's impulses and in fact seems willing to keep one foot on the accelerator — particularly when it comes to defending Trump's trade war with China and defending Saudi Arabia.

Pompeo did not seem interested in getting in Trump's way as the President and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani went digging for dirt on political opponents in Ukraine. In fact, Pompeo sat in on the Trump-Zelensky phone call on July 25 and was a firsthand witness to the President asking the Ukrainian leader to initiate an investigation into Trump's leading 2020 political rival — and yet for days he made misleading statements to gloss over his participation. Pompeo failed to meet a subpoena deadline from the House and pushed back against the House Foreign Affairs Committee's request to interview five State Department officials.

In his role as secretary of state, Pompeo has compiled a dismal record in areas like the Middle East, where he has carved out a prominent role for himself. His uncompromising and confrontational style of diplomacy has brought the US and Iran closer to the brink of war and all but extinguished any hope of a new dialogue between the two countries on the nuclear issue.

He has denied the CIA's own assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman reportedly ordered the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and

claimed instead that "there's no direct evidence linking him to the murder."

His kowtowing to Salman has enabled the crown prince to pursue policies elsewhere in the region. Exhibit A: Saudi military campaign in Yemen has inflicted misery as a result of its ongoing conflict with the Iranianbacked Houthis. Pompeo has been the point man in defending US military assistance to Saudi Arabia in its Yemen war. His refusal to acknowledge the Saudi role in Yemen's war and willingness to place the blame solely on Iran strains the bounds of credulity to the breaking point.

Elsewhere around the world, Pompeo has been the President's junior partner in undermining US alliances and multilateralism. He's been a cheerleader for the inhumane and ineffectual sanctions campaign to topple the Maduro government in Venezuela.

He's championed of the disastrous allor-nothing approach to denuclearization diplomacy with North Korea, which so far has yielded zero progress (although there are hopeful signs of a change in the US approach to the negotiations).

When the beleaguered and hapless Rex Tillerson was unceremoniously dumped by Trump, morale at the State Department had hit rock bottom and most observers assumed it had nowhere to go but up. This proved to be wrong — morale, by all accounts, has sunk to an even lower level. Trump's disdain for the State Department, diplomacy, and America's diplomatic corps bears much of the blame. But Pompeo is not blameless, and he should be held accountable.

He was not only complicit in Trump's scheme to dig up dirt on Joe Biden, but also in the removal of the US ambassador to Ukraine. Rather than stand up to Trump, he failed to use his close relationship with the President to prevent Giuliani from

conducting his own foreign policy in Ukraine. He did not defend State Department personnel against scurrilous attacks by Trump and his right wing, conspiratorial-crazed sycophants.

Finally, Pompeo failed to oppose the investigation into current and former State Department officials who sent emails to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's private email — a blatant attempt to tarnish the careers of these officials. Whatever Pompeo has been whispering into Trump's ear, it has not been a message to lay off the State Department.

It's hard to see the next year or so improving Pompeo's prospects. His reputation has taken a hit on Ukraine and it may get further blackened as the impeachment inquiry intensifies.

It would be smart politics and good policy for the administration to try to engage in serious diplomacy in the next year.

But Iran and North Korea will be tough nuts to crack and success will require the kind of diplomatic skill so far missing in the repertoire of a secretary of state who seems better suited to haranguing and lecturing America's adversaries than negotiating with them.

It often takes time and perspective to judge the performance of a secretary of state. In Pompeo's case, the verdict may already be in.

Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is the author of "The End of Greatness: Why America Can't Have (and Doesn't Want) Another Great President." He served as a Middle East negotiator in Democratic and Republican administrations. Richard Sokolsky is a nonresident senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former member of the US State Department's Office of Policy Planning.

Mr. Bheel is wracked by doubt, the same doubt his grandfather had when he chose to keep the family in Pakistan during partition. Did he make the right choice?

He left his home and siblings in Karachi, trading a lucrative job as an administrator of a medical clinic there to live as a migrant in India. His medical diploma, one of the few possessions he brought with him, hangs proudly on a wall, although it is not valid in India. He struggles to make ends meet here.

“You take these decisions sometimes out of excitement for what your life could be,” Mr. Bheel said, his daughter cuddling beside him on a bench. “Then you arrive and realize it’s much different on the ground.”

Mr. Bheel looked on as his wife struggled to contain rainwater leaking from the ceiling, after a monsoon swiftly obliterated the sunny sky. Eventually she gave up, running out of pots and buckets. “Maybe this wasn’t the right decision for me,” he said. “But maybe my children will look back and say, ‘My father made the right choice.’”

Maria Abi-Habib is a South Asia correspondent, based in Delhi.

Before joining The New York Times Times in 2017, she was a roving Middle East correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. Hari Kumar contributed reporting from Jodhpur, India, and Zia urRehman from Karachi, Pakistan.

scrap silly charges against 49 leading intellectuals. don’t make indian democracy a laughing stock Times of iNdia High-profile celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership of India’s freedom struggle are rendered meaningless by repetitive and frivolous invocation of heavy-handed colonial-era laws, such as those pertaining to sedition, 72 years after independence.

This was yet again demonstrated when a letter to the PM voicing concern over the spate of lynchings and hate crime, written by a group of the country’s leading thinkers and artists, drew charges of sedition and breach of peace. While the Supreme Court has tried to limit the meaning of sedition to a direct and immediate incitement to violence akin to a “spark in a powder keg”, in practice it has been applied to even the most commonplace raising of questions by Indian citizens.

Democratic expression of views must be permitted and laws incompatible with such a basic right, such as the one on sedition, must be consigned to where they belong – the trash can of history. As writer Amit Chaudhuri, one of the signatories to the letter, has noted, there has been no formal announcement yet that fundamental rights are suspended and Indian democracy has ceased to exist. It’s incomprehensible, therefore, where such complaints and FIRs are coming out of and from what understanding of law and constitutional rights Surya Kant Tiwari, chief judicial magistrate at a Muzaffarpur court, chose to admit the charge against the letter writers.

One amidst the bizarre farrago of charges is that the signatories have “tarnished the image of the country.” India gains a lot of mileage and prestige by calling itself the world’s biggest democracy.

That is how, for instance, it distinguishes itself from Pakistan – which it is trying hard to isolate in the international arena. If, however, a democratic expression of views leads to charges of sedition and breach of peace, then Indian democracy will be the world’s laughing stock. Nothing could tarnish the country’s image more, and it would have succeeded in re-hyphenating itself with Pakistan.

The government must clarify where it stands on the issue. Higher judiciary must take suo motu cognisance of this lower court order, and move quickly to quash it. And the Supreme Court must open a full re-examination of the constitutionality of the sedition law, taking into account its recent history of misuse.

Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

US TRooPS STaRT PUlloUT FRom along TURKey’S BoRdeR In SyRIa BEIRUT

S

AGENCIES

YRIA’S Kurds accused the U.S. of turning its back on its allies and risking gains made in the fight against the Islamic State group as American troops began pulling back on Monday from positions in northeastern Syria ahead of an expected Turkish assault.

Syrian Kurdish fighters warned that Washington’s abrupt decision to stand aside — announced by the White House late Sunday — will overturn years of achievements in the battle against IS militants. In a strongly-worded statement, they accused Washington of failing to abide by its commitments to its key allies.

There was no immediate confirmation from the White House of U.S. troops clearing positions in areas in northern Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, also said American troops have started pulling back, and a video posted by a Kurdish news agency showed a convoy of American armored vehicles apparently heading away from the border area of Tal Abyad.

Erdogan spoke hours after the White House said U.S. forces in

northeastern Syria will move aside and clear the way for an expected Turkish assault — raising concerns about the fate of Kurdish fighters who fought alongside American forces in the yearslong battle to defeat the Islamic State group.

“Following our conversation last night (with Trump), the withdrawal has started as expressed by the president,” the Turkish leader said. Erdogan did not elaborate on the planned Turkish incursion but said Turkey was determined to halt what it perceives as threats from the Syrian Kurdish fighters.

The White House, in a statement that was silent on the fate of Kurds, said U.S. troops “will not

support or be involved in the operation” and “will no longer be in the immediate area,” in northern Syria.

There are about 1,000 U.S. troops in northern Syria, and a senior U.S. official said they will pull back from the area — and potentially depart the country entirely, should widespread fighting break out between Turkish and Kurdish forces. The White House statement on Sunday also said Turkey will take custody of foreign fighters captured in the U.S.-led campaign against IS who have been held by the Kurdish forces.

The Kurds have custody of thousands of captured Islamic State militants. They include about 2,500

FOREIGN NEWS 07

highly dangerous foreign fighters from Europe and elsewhere — their native countries have been reluctant to take them back — and about 10,000 captured fighters from Syria and Iraq.

Kurdish officials have expressed concerns of a possible breakout by IS prisoners in case of fighting in the area. Asked about the White House comments, Erdogan said that both Turkey and the U.S. were working separately to see “what steps can be taken” so that foreign fighters in prison can be repatriated. “This is being worked on,” he said.

Erdogan has threatened for months to launch the military operation across the border. He views the Syria Kurdish forces as terrorists and a threat to his country as Ankara has struggled with a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey.

In the U.S., Republicans and Democrats have warned that allowing the Turkish attack could lead to a massacre of the Kurds and send a troubling message to American allies across the globe.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, as the Kurdish-led force is known, said the American pullout began first from areas along the SyriaTurkey border.

Iraq military admits 'excessive force' used in deadly protests BAGHDAD AGENCIES

Iraq’s military admitted for the first time Monday it had used “excessive force” in nearly a week of deadly protests, as paramilitary units said they were ready to back the government.

More than 100 people have been killed and several thousand wounded in demonstrations increasingly spiralling into violence, with witnesses reporting security forces using water cannons, tear gas and live rounds.

On Sunday evening a mass protest in Sadr City in east Baghdad led to clashes that medics and security forces said left 13 people dead.

In videos distributed on social media, protesters could be seen ducking into streets littered with burning tyres as a volley of gunfire and suspected heavy weapons were heard.

“Excessive force outside the rules of engagement was used and we have begun to hold accountable those commanding officers who carried out these wrong acts,” the military said.

It said Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi had ordered those forces to be replaced with federal police units and the intelligence services to open

Taliban release 3 Indian engineers, insurgents say KABUL: The Taliban have released three Indian engineers who were kidnapped in Afghanistan last year, Taliban sources told AFP on Monday, as part of an apparent prisoner swap that saw 11 fighters released. In May 2018, the Taliban seized six Indian engineers who were working on a power plant project in Baghlan in northern Afghanistan, along with their Afghan driver. Taliban officials in several different locations told AFP on condition of anonymity that three of the engineers were released in Baghlan province on Sunday. The whereabouts of the others were not immediately clear. Details about the swap, and who coordinated it, were also unclear, with the Afghan government, the Indian embassy in Kabul and the United States military in Afghanistan all declining comment. In return for the release of the Indians, 11 Taliban members were freed from a prison in Bagram, a former US facility now run by Afghan authorities. Among those freed were two former Taliban “shadow” governors, sources said. The apparent prisoner swap comes after a senior Pakistani official told AFP that US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad last week met with Taliban officials in Pakistan, though he stressed it did not represent a formal resumption of peace talks between Washington and the insurgents. AFP was unable to verify the claim, and it was not known if the releases were related to that exchange. The US and the Taliban had been negotiating for a year to reach a deal that would have cut US forces in Afghanistan and could have paved the way to a reduction in violence, but US President Donald Trump scuttled that agreement last month. AGENCIES

Kremlin says FBI questioning of Russian lawmaker unacceptable

an investigation into the incident.

It was the first time since protests broke out that security forces acknowledged using disproportionate measures, after the premier insisted they had been acting “within international standards” in dealing with demonstrations.

Across Baghdad on Monday morning as in several southern cities, streets were reopening and no protests could be seen, although demonstrators typically gather in the late evening.

Sadr City, a densely populated, impoverished part of the capital, is a bastion of firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr who has thrown his weight behind the protests by calling on Abdel Mahdi’s government to resign. But the embattled premier instead announced a series of reforms to create jobs, boost social welfare and oust corrupt officials.

He has accused “saboteurs” of infiltrating the protests, a claim echoed by the Hashed al-Shaabi, a powerful network of mostly-Shiite, pro-Iran paramilitary units.

“We know who stands behind these protests.

The plan to bring down the regime has failed,” its chief Faleh al-Fayyadh told journalists in Baghdad.He said his forces would support actions against corrupt institutions but not “the fall

of the regime,” a chant which has featured more prominently in the protests in recent days.

“Those who wanted to defame Iraq will be punished,” Fayyadh said, adding that his forces were “ready for any government order.”

His words echoed a statement earlier Monday by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who accused “enemies” of trying to drive a wedge between Tehran and Baghdad.

“Enemies seek to sow discord but they’ve failed & their conspiracy won’t be effective,” Khamenei was quoted as saying on his office’s Twitter account.

Iran has urged its citizens planning to take part in a major Shiite pilgrimage in Iraq to delay their travel into the country over the violence.

Baghdad has close but complicated ties with Tehran, which enjoys significant influence among its Shiite political groups, but is also an ally of Washington.

On Monday, Abdel Mahdi said he discussed the recent events and reform plans in a phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, without providing further details.

And Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov landed in Baghdad to meet top officials.

MOSCOW: Moscow considers FBI questioning of a Russian lawmaker unacceptable, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, after Russian deputy Inga Yumasheva was questioned for an hour by the FBI upon arrival in New York.

“This very alarming news, it definitely causes great concern,” Peskov said. “We consider such actions with regards to a Russian deputy unacceptable.” AGENCIES

Putin turns 67, takes birthday break in Siberian mountains MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has spent the weekend in southern Siberia’s mountains. Photos and video released by the Kremlin on Monday showed Putin walking forested mountains in the Tuva region that borders Mongolia. Putin turned 67 on Monday. Russia’s natureloving, action-man president has visited the area several times over the past few years, walking up the mountains, fishing and swimming in the area’s pristine rivers and lakes. The video broadcast by Russian television showed Putin walking up the slope and pausing to look at the Yenisei River below and the surrounding mountains.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the region’s native, accompanied Putin on the trip. AGENCIES

Portugal’s Socialists win election, now eye alliances LISBON AGENCIES

Portugal’s Socialist Party had little time Monday to savor its general election victory, as tough negotiations for parliamentary support loomed and the economy braces for leaner times.

The center-left Socialists won Sunday’s general election with 36.6% of the vote and are preparing to govern for another four years. The main opposition Social Democratic Party came second with almost 28%.

The Socialists, however, are 10 seats shy of a majority in the 230-seat parliament. To ensure that its legislation is approved, the government will need support from other parties.

A healthy economy, with growth of 2.1 % last year and unemployment at around 6%, helped the Socialist Party back into the Sao Bento Palace, the seat

of power in Lisbon.

The Socialists have also earned praise around Europe for taming Portugal’s chronic overspending, with Finance Minister Mario Centeno bringing the budget deficit close to zero this year.

Antonio Costa, the Socialist leader and incumbent prime minister, said in his victory speech that he intends to continue his business-friendly policies and prudent fiscal management.

But economic troubles are brewing in Europe, and once the election results were known the radical Left Bloc and Portuguese Communist Party — the most obvious candidates for an alliance — were quick to issue demands for more spending. The Left Bloc snared 19 seats and the Communist Party got 12.

Left Bloc leader Catarina Martins said her party’s demands in return for support would include the re-nationalization of the national postal service CTT,

which was privatized in 2014, and a boost in public investment in housing and transport. The Communists want the minimum monthly wage to rise to 850 euros ($932) from 600 euros, an increase in pensions and free pre-school for all children up to three years old, among other things. The next government faces plenty of economic challenges, too.

Apart from signs of a broad slowdown in the European Union, looming on the horizon is the United Kingdom’s impending departure from the EU, now scheduled for Oct. 31. The U.K. is one of Portugal’s main export markets.

Portugal also has a government debt equivalent to more than 120% of its gross domestic product — the third highest in the EU — so any interest rate rise could be deeply damaging.

The country’s aging population, meanwhile, is threatening the financing of Portugal’s welfare system. The EU

says at current fertility rates, the number of Portuguese will decline from 10.3 million this year to 6.6 million in 2100.

Climate change is another problem,

especially in the southern half of the country where rainfall is increasingly scarce.

It may take several weeks of negotiations before a new government takes office.

Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

08 COMMENT

Blue whales on Noah’s Ark?

Imran Khan’s third visit to China Failing to implement CPEC projects by a long chalk

On reason and religion

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He PM proceeded to China yesterday to discuss issues of regional and bilateral importance with the Chinese leadership. topmost on the list of the regional issues is kashmir where crackdown has entered a third month. the Us-taliban talks remain suspended after trump called them off last month. Pakistan and india meanwhile remain in a state of confrontation. india has protested to China after the latter’s envoy in islamabad supported Pakistan’s stand on kashmir. there is a need to learn how Beijing tries to settle its disputes with other countries. China employs peaceful means for resolution of disputes while concentrating fully on its economic and social development. Pakistan on the other hand has neglected its economy and given little importance to social development while fighting two full-fledged wars that further weakened its economy.

PM imran khan’s China visit comes amidst reports of CPeC slow down. Deadlines fixed by the Pti government have invariably been missed. it has taken the administration more than a year to decide to make the CPeC authority operational. the government needs to concentrate on removing the causes that have delayed the implementation of vital projects. a major cause is the failure to apportion funds in the budget for the CPeC related tasks that Pakistan was supposed to carry out. Progress on the Gwadar airport thus remains constrained due to the failure to provide water and electricity supply. encouraged by the government’s fixation to pursuing corruption cases against its political opponents, naB has shown keenness to probe CPeC affairs. this has discouraged the planning ministry’s bureaucracy from processing the upgradation of the Main Line-i (ML-i) project of Pakistan Railways that, among other things, was to create 190,000 jobs. the files continue to move from one ministry to another as the intimidating $8 billion price tag discourages government officials from signing a summary that could land them in jail.

Federal Minister khusro Bakhtiar wants to offer new projects to China that also include Pakistan steel Mills and 7,000-megawatt Bunji hydropower project. Unless the government first removes the causes that have delayed CPeC projects, this will only add more to the long list of incomplete schemes.

AGP’s problematic compliance report More needs to be done to avoid the axe

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akistan is in a particularly tough spot as the date for the FatF’s (Financial action task Force) meeting, where the possibility of the country’s placement on the dreaded blacklist will be under discussion, is just a week away and aGP’s (asia Pacific Group) latest report on our progress highlights that compliance has been mostly partial. Of the forty parameters, the report maintains that Pakistan was fully compliant on one, largely compliant on nine, partially compliant on twenty-six and non-compliant on the remaining four. the report specifically mentions that Pakistan has not taken sufficient action against ’terrorist groups operating in the country such as Let, JuD and JeM’. Considering the fact that more has been done against these groups than ever before due to pressure from the FatFand yet the action is unsatisfactory, should be cause for concern. this ‘action’ was one of the central points of PM imran khan’s Un speech apart from the operative kashmir bit. Comments on the legal system and its “major technical shortcomings” are also highlighted as a deficiency that makes money laundering and terror financing easier. Pakistan has been on the FatF’s grey list for a little over a year and during this time has made considerable efforts to curb terror financing but clearly a lot more needs to be done to satisfy the FatF and time is not on our side. Perhaps all those years of actively lobbying to keep the likes of Masood azhar off Un’s designated terror list or framing easily bailable charges against JuD chief Hafiz saeed has culminated in the air of mistrust with which the FatF is observing Pakistan.

China presiding over the FatF may provide us with some relief but that may not be enough as there are 38 other members to win over. this includes india that is a strong proponent of Pakistan being placed on the black list and will use all its leverage to achieve this in the coming weeks. Whether or not that happens is tough to say but one thing is for certain: Pakistan has to comply fully with the recommendations of the FatF not for any other reason but for self-preservation.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

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haSaN aFTaB SaEED

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Re reason and religion two non-overlapping domains? Many Muslims would argue that that’s not the case. the Quran repeatedly invites its reader to use his intellect. Unfortunately, not all Muslims heed this advice. a common complaint of atheists is that Muslims are guilty of suspending their reasoning faculty in all matters religious. to be fair, there are Muslims who answer to this description. Out of those, many do it unconsciously, and therefore they wouldn’t admit to any such thing. there are some, however, who proudly declare that their religious beliefs are beyond reason, which is unfortunate to say the least.

What about the atheists though? surely, one would expect them to fare better on the rationality front, considering how they pride themselves on using their intellect. Unfortunately, many of them are guilty of precisely the same thing that they accuse the Muslims of; no matter how reasonable and intelligent they may be in worldly matters, as soon as the conversation turns to religious matters, their much vaunted rationality is nowhere to be seen. and this is true not just of the atheist by birth – yes, we now have this variety as well. Whether this is innocent or by design is another question, to which i shall return shortly. anybody who has had discussions with atheists over any length of time knows that it’s the same old ‘arguments’ leading to the same conclusions, over and over. But it’s not as much the conclusions, but the quality of the arguments that leaves a lot to be desired, and which i want to talk about. ‘How could noah possibly build an ark that could have accommodated millions of

species?’ is one such familiar line of ‘reasoning’. phants, kangaroos, lemurs, whales, sharks and Recently, this was presented - for probably the insects of all sorts to start their new life. some millionth time since the start of this millennium atheists point out the phrase ‘two mates of every alone- in a discussion on social media, suppos- kind’ [11:40, 23:27] and conclude that the edly as a conclusive argument that disproved, Quran tells noah to include all species of the once for all, noah’s Flood. Just consider the list world. again, this confusion is there only beof things this argument obviously takes for cause it’s a religious matter under discussion. granted: that the Flood was global; that pairs of Had similar language been used in a more each species on the planet needed to be carried; worldly context, there would have been no conthat all theists agree on these details; and that the fusion whatsoever, for the average person is more likely to use his head in that case. For exstraw man won’t be detected. as a rule, these debates are tedious on ac- ample, if a professor instructs his ta to inform ‘all students’ that that count of proceeding along week’s class has been worn-out lines; but if one postponed till a later date, is lucky there is someit’s a safe bet that the ta times an unexpected twist It’s hardly surprising (howsoever hardened an that makes the whole atheist he may be) would thing quite entertaining. that suspension of the simply inform the students the recent debate was intellect, whether taking the course in quesone such occasion. ‘Why tion, instead of worrying did blue whales, for exconscious or about compiling contact ample, need to be on the info of all students on the ark in the first place? unconscious, whether face of the planet. it’s Being sea-creatures, hardly surprising that suscouldn’t they have easily by an atheist or by a pension of the intellect, coped with the Flood?’ i theist, and whether whether conscious or unhad objected. to which i whether by an was informed (in earnest) innocently or by design, conscious, atheist or by a theist, and that whales can only surwhether innocently or by vive in sea water and not yields some very design, yields some very in fresh water. Very inunfortunate results unfortunate results. genious, except it would By no means am i achave made noah’s task a cusing all atheists of being tad harder by necessitatmanipulative. such cases ing huge compartments full of sea water on board his ark. not to men- exist; i have no doubt. But most often it’s uncontion the small matter of convincing a pair of scious on the part of the atheist, who while thinkblue whales to somehow transport themselves ing little of religion, presents a particularly into them. i don’t know what is worse: to be- foolish version of a belief to the Muslim and asks lieve something this silly or to expect others how the latter could be so naïve as to believe it. the Muslim, on his part, feels so obliged to deto believe something this silly. it’s obvious that the pairs of animals in fend ‘his’ belief that he doesn’t even pause to question were never anything more than domes- think whether he believes that in the first place, ticated animals in everyday use of those who allowing himself to be led by his nose. My gripe were going to board the ark with noah. that’s is with this type of Muslim. because though it was a local flood, sooner or Hasan Aftab Saeed is a connoisseur of music, later water was going to subside, necessitating a fresh start on ground. it’s never explained why literature, and food (but not drinks). He can be the survivors would have needed giraffes, ele- reached at www.facebook.com/hasanaftabsaeed

Remembering the Cheemas and Fawads And why bureaucrats must run with the hare and hunt with the hound

Shah Nawaz Mohal

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iMe changes everything. But, when you are a bureaucrat in a land that is yet to shed its colonial baggage, time makes you king of all you survey one moment; the next even your best friends shy away from you.

Fawad Hasan Fawad in islamabad and ahad khan Cheema in Lahore were de facto Prime Minister and Chief Minister respectively. Both are behind bars now, a fate not much different from their masters. they are intelligent, hardworking, accomplished, diligent, risk taking, boss pleasing geniuses whose rise reminds one of meteors and whose fall resembles that of rusty scarecrows. ahad khan Cheema and Fawad Hasan Fawad were two ace bureaucrats who ran the roost for the greater good of themselves and their masters. they were all of the above and more. they are Dr. Faustus whose time has come. they are Yossarian condemned to Catch-22. they are achilles’ whose heel has been hit. they are Greek demigods demoted to mere, pitiable mortals. they were proud, mighty heroes everyone adored, now they’ve become Richard iii whose final words were ‘a horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse’.

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there aren’t any horses available. the kingdom they served is gone. the House they protected is imperiled. their carefully built and jealously guarded careers are in the gutter. their fellows are slowly but certainly distancing themselves from their colleagues. the party is over. and nobody wants to attend the after-party with the lads who have been ‘naBbed’, pun intended. in our land, as many say, the more things change the more they remain the same. i’ve written in the same pages few months back that gone are the days when babus were of sikandar Mirza, Governor Ghulam Muhammad or Ghulam ishaq khan’s stature who had the rise and fall of politicians in their fists. the past babu masters, after taking a lot of beatings from the powers that be are now reduced to the status of handmaidens available to do the dirty work in return of prized postings, rampant promotions and a direct line to the man on top.

Despite all of the above who wants to be a bureaucrat? Well, who doesn’t? in our fatherland, power, prestige, status, and privilege are bundled together in one handsome package: Bureaucracy. no wonder then the bureaucracy in our land of the free and pure is one of the most reviled and condemned institutions. Coming second only to politicians, the masses hold bureaucrats responsible for things ranging from bad governance, shattered roads and infrastructure to absence of water in their taps. the bureaucrats, however, are of the view that they are more sinned against than sinning. they believe they are mere tools and cogs in a machine that is headed by political strongman, tempered by elusive powers-that-be, inundated with shortages of funds and manpower, and hammered into pulp by an over-enthusiastic media. in this background when the ahad khan Cheema episode unfolded, the arrest of Fawad Hasan Fawad was only a matter of time. Both ahad khan Cheema and Fawad Hasan Fawad are the product of one of Pakistan’s most meritorious exam; Css; a free-for-all battle of nerves where the scions of wealthy families are

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pitted against hardworking sons and daughters of middle and lower-middle class. the candidates from rural backgrounds with their more stamina to sit-and-study for long hours compete against those from urban centres having advantage of better schooling, sharpened analytical skills and more facilities. now, dear reader, all the mighty and influential bureaucrats are all of a sudden threatened with a stick they were never accustomed to. For them the arrest of the most pivotal two has ominous signs. they stood together, and now with two dominos down, it seems like only a matter of time that it’ll be their turn to face the music. now, they’ve come across a similar existential crisis that marks human existence: now that they’ve dared to overreach and did things, made decisions and helped in deeds now put under scrutiny and totally above their pay grades what lies in the offing for the most secured ones?

Dr. ishaq Hussain in one of his essays ‘Retooling institutions’ in an anthology titled ‘Pakistan: Beyond the Crisis state’ has lamented that since Bhutto’s era the civil services have become a reservoir of those who seek social mobility through the stature and promise of office. also, he quotes a study done by international Crisis Group that observed that ‘decades of mismanagement, political manipulation and corruption have rendered Pakistan’s Civil service incapable of providing effective governance and basic public services. in public perception the country’s 2.4 million civil servants are widely seen as unresponsive and corrupt, and their bureaucratic procedures cumbersome and exploitative’.

Until we fail to incentivize power, we’ll be reigned on by an abundance of Cheemas and Fawads. as even the best minds are available to serve the pittiest of causes.

We won’t be running out of ‘the intelligent, hardworking, accomplished, diligent, risk taking, boss pleasing geniuses anytime soon.

Shah Nawaz Mohal is a law graduate and journalist based in Islamabad. He can be reached at mshahnawazmohal@gmail.com.

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

COMMENT 09 Editor’s mail

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan today exclusively

Who let the dogs out?

No profession for professionals Forward thinking required. Immediately! even ‘work’ if you’re not getting paid to do it? istani television provides seem to be disconWe don’t allow thinking let alone progressive necting ours from the world. the new iPhone has three cameras for picthinking here, what worked for our ancestors ture precision but i’m sure we can function in seems to be working just fine for us. i see no reason to update in a world where today’s world with an education system that dates back to 1986. it not the top 1% is mainly inlike anything has changed vesting in building spacesince then anyway & it’s ships & colonizing mars. obviously easier to impleBesides being a patriotic Of course there’s also the ment iMF austerity than Pakistani actually means achieving media and tech relocating to another inherited belief passed literacy. How beneficial country when you become has our neighbour’s policy corrupted with innovative, down from our of investing in software progressive and inclusive forefathers, that a country engineers and silicon Valthoughts. that’s the nature ley style corporations been of sacrifice saim sadiq, only needs these three anyway? it’s not like india the director of the PakaMNa KhaN home to some of the istani short film ‘Darling’, skills to survive and the isbiggest tech giants in the had to make. When he world listed on the naswon at the Venice Film furthest that you’re DaQ (digital stock marHat do you want to be when Festival for Best short allowed to stray is in the ket) that relatively relieves you grow up? ‘an astronaut’ a Film he knew he couldn’t naive child in every american deliver something as gut fields of business, finance them from depending solely on iMF bailouts. movie would say. that’s the wrenchingly vomit inducaccording to the Los power of films, they can help ing as ‘Baaji’ so he settled and for those blessed angeles times 16% of inyou dream. they make you reimagine possibil- for a lesser honor. that’s enough to be born power dian immigrants are the ities. Of course, india’s economy had always the kind of sacrifice all co-founders at silicon performed well enough for them to participate foreign Pakistani’s make hungry - politics Valley start-ups and those in the space race but they needed dreamers too, when they choose to innowho don’t immigrate atvate abroad, what ideas dreamers willing to take risks. tracted the valley to their Probability seems to favour the country go unrewarded in their neighbourhoods back with a population to spare and amongst so homeland. an assault of start-ups has been a signifi- home. Understanding that the God of today’s many; the options for employability have to be equally as many too. so their institutional set cant side effect of this vacuum in a market suf- world is tech giants and his choice of fuel is big up became diversified to accommodate people fering from growing pains. Conventional data capacity puts a lot of things into perspecin a plethora of professions. Our world has professions just don’t seem lucrative enough tive. Media entities such as netflix and amazon roughly over 12,000 careers and counting and anymore, the years of work isn’t complemented Prime saw an untapped market and respectively surprising as it may seem, not everyone wants by a large enough pay off. these start-ups how- set up gargantuan offices in india. amazon has to be a doctor, engineer or lawyer. also as hard ever greatly lack infrastructure & engagement reportedly set up one of its biggest offices in as it is to believe, in today’s world some insta- as well, because consumers are given better Hyderabad. it is an enviable work environment, with choices internationally. as gram influencers make the world goes global, enough jobs to cater to the flood of it specialtwice as much as all three competition does too. ists and software engineers hungry for jobs. the professions combined. neither educational nor indians unable to immigrate to the Valley were the doctor, engineer and Lucky for us; we institutional make-up so crucial for these companies that they brought lawyer’s obsession seems to be catching up to the valley to them! Given the abundance of popdoesn’t seem to subside don’t have any artists, the program that millenni- ulation and holistic re-education, the incentive though, despite cinema’s film editors, theatre als are going to choose for growth was simply too good to pass up. best attempts (3 idiots).

Job outlook and work environment matter over Geo every sinOf course there’s also the actors, classical dancers, GOt more to us than money- when will employers gle time! inherited belief passed the world is pivoting understand that? a large and attentive part of down from our forefaviolinists or any other towards inclusion and our day is spent at work and we need it to be thers, that a country only creatively inclined progress while Pakistan good, even meaningful. Pakistan’s demographic needs these three skills to continues to pander to is young enough that a media/tech switchover survive and the furthest professionals born in predated colonialist is inevitable. You can join us or own our success that you’re allowed to norms. in short, the when it’s validated by our colonizer. stray is in the fields of this great country of the market needs to diversify to accommoBritish came, made everybusiness, finance and for ours. Such purposeless thing about money and date a multitude of professions. Monotony more those blessed enough to told us our art and history than anything else has crippled our economy. an be born power hungry citizens would’ve just is excrement equivalent. extreme keenness for palatable tastes needs to be politics.

Cut to the present day built for our population craving to be endorsed Lucky for us; we been a burden on our with our parents telling us by its own media. Pakistan’s digital future is a don’t have any artists, our O & a level scores mass of niches and everyone has their own echo film editors, theatre acinflating economy should qualify for scholar- chamber of truths reinforcing a set of outdated tors, classical dancers, viships abroad. Millennials beliefs. We need to embrace our authentic Pakolinists or any other are looking for something istani distinctiveness to attract an individualistic creatively inclined professionals born in this great country of ours. such else and demand seems to be outstripping what audience who are far more exposed than ever bepurposeless citizens would’ve just been a bur- no one in the country knows how to supply. Per- fore. We have some of the lowest literacy rates den on our inflating economy. How do people haps because we still seem to be hung up on in south asia and one of the highest consumpeven grapple with pursuing meaningless work saas bahu melodrama and just as films shape tion of smartphones, let’s use this information to with no monetarily solvent future - i mean is it dreams and frame our reality - the air time Pak- our advantage and adapt to the future.

W

On Friday, imran khan gave a historical yet thought-provoking speech in 74th session of the United nations General assembly. Millions of people are appreciating his words as they create an impact on the audience. His speech comprised of several social and international relation issues that need immediate attention from various countries across the world.

Mr. khan started his speech with the immediate threat of climate change which affects the entire world. However, a critical aspect that he pointed out was how the rich countries need to be more active in terms of minimizing their carbon emissions. as per Mr. khan, the poor countries suffer the most, including Pakistan being an agricultural country that relies on glaciers which are melting too fast. i believe Mr. khan’s attempt to focus on this issue was indeed important given the recent Climate March. it reflects on the fact that Pakistan and its people are aware of how climate change is affecting everyone. the second point in consideration of the speech by Mr. khan was global corruption and money laundering being critical issues that make a poor country poorer. as per the speech, rich countries in Western part of the world are acting as a tax haven for most of the corrupt corruption. Mr. khan highlighted that Pakistan has significant debt to pay due to money laundering and lack of access to the plundered money. in my opinion, this part of the speech was an indirect attack to other political parties in Pakistan which have formerly ruled the country. While it was vital to let the people know about the graveness of money laundering, it just added to the extra time Mr. khan took for his speech. the third part of the speech revolved around islamophobia, an issue being faced by Muslims, especially in the Western countries. time and time again we hear how people in other countries treat Muslims with hatred. Mr. khan was vocal about the fact that there is no such thing as radical islam. He also highlighted how islam teaches everyone to treat minorities and women with respect. nonetheless, i feel this is a controversial aspect since minorities in Pakistan are treated poorly. From stopping minorities to enter the shops to burning down their religious places, Pakistan has failed to protect them. and let us not forget, Pakistan is one of the few countries who voted no against Un’s willingness to investigate the situation in Yemen. the last point of Mr. khan’s speech focused on india’s treatment towards kashmir and Pakistan. He talked about how he, as the Prime Minister showed his intent to work things out with Mr. Modi, india’s Prime Minister but was only met with hostility. Mr. khan encouraged the Un to let kashmir decide about what it wants rather than letting india set a curfew there. this was not a threat but a warning.

SyEdA ALINA ZAIdI Karachi

PM’s speech PM imran khan delivered a passionate long speech while addressing annual Un General assembly. He poured his heart out and touched upon benign role of Muslim majority countries, who instead of standing up to expose tyranny and conspiracy behind proponents of islamophobia, chose to go along, trying to adopt a convoluted version of enlightened Moderation, with likes of Musharraf aping to tunes of Zionist lobby. imran khan exposed tortuous treatment meted to kashmiri population, who have faced collective punishment, being confined to their homes for almost 55 long days. He also spoke against extensive money laundering being indulged by corrupt civil, uniformed and political elite who have been involved in institutionalized corruption plundering their countries and transferring black money to foreign safe havens. However he must understand that Western economic system encourages such money transfers, because instead of physical colonial occupation, like over 200 year British Raj, the new mode is economic colonization. ik should focus on taking concrete steps, through legislation and implementation of laws, to stop flight of capital by corrupt elite from Pakistan. PM khan should ensure that likes of admiral Mansoor ul Haq, Musharraf, kayani clan, iqbal saeed, nawaz sharif, asif Zardari, shujaat, altaf Hussain etc and super bureaucrats like shahid Rafi, Capt naseer, Qamar Chaudhry, Lashari, salman siddiqui etc who were involved in daylight robberies, are prevented from robbing this country and face sever prosecution and punishments.

GuL ZAMAN Peshawar

Manufacture of solar panels We missed a golden opportunity of setting up manufacturing plants for solar panels in the country for harnessing abundant solar energy potential in the country about two decades ago when a Pakistan born Us scientist and owner of solar panels manufacturing plants in the United states , Dr. Lubna , offered the government of Pakistan to set up solar panels manufacturing plants across Pakistan. Looking into the future , she made the offer for exploiting the solar energy for its maximum utilization in order to provide clean reliable and affordable power to its citizens and for the national power grid. Dr. Lubna ( an old Ravian ) holding many prestigious awards , including einstein award , wanted to do some service to her motherland without any financial gains in her mind , as she was quite rich already by the grace of God , having a happy family living very comfortably in the Us. alas, her passionate and appropriate offer was not entertained by our greedy , incompetent and corrupt people who mattered! instead of accepting her meaningful offer , they were interested in Us visas & personal benefits for their children and families !

ENGr rIAZ BHuttA Lahore

Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

10 FOREIGN NEWS

TrUmp allIES SoUGhT chanGES aT UkraInE UTIlITy KYIV

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company, Naftogaz, would soon be taken up with Ukraine’s new president by U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, whose slate of candidates included a fellow Texan who is one of Perry’s past political donors.

It’s unclear if Perry’s attempts to replace board members at Naftogaz were coordinated with the Giuliani allies pushing for a similar outcome, and no one has alleged that there is criminal activity in any of these efforts. And it’s unclear what role, if any, Giuliani had in helping his clients push to get gas sales agreements with the state-owned company.

But the affair shows how those with ties to Trump and his administration were pursuing business deals in Ukraine that went far beyond advancing the president’s personal political interests. It also raises questions about whether Trump allies were mixing business and politics just as Republicans were calling for a probe of Biden and his son Hunter, who served five years on the board of another Ukrainian energy company, Burisma.

On Friday, according to the news site Axios, Trump told a group of Republican lawmakers that it had been Perry who had

AGENCIES

S Rudy Giuliani was pushing Ukrainian officials last spring to investigate one of Donald Trump’s main political rivals, a group of individuals with ties to the president and his personal lawyer were also active in the former Soviet republic.

Their aims were profit, not politics.

This circle of businessmen and Republican donors touted connections to Giuliani and Trump while trying to install new management at the top of Ukraine’s massive state gas company. Their plan was to then steer lucrative contracts to companies controlled by Trump allies, according to two people with knowledge of their plans.

Their plan hit a snag after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko lost his reelection bid to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, whose conversation with Trump about former Vice President Joe Biden is now at the center of the House impeachment inquiry of Trump.

But the effort to install a friendlier management team at the helm of the gas

Greece expands programme to transfer refugees MILAN: Authorities in Greece have expanded a program to transfer migrants and refugees from overcrowded camps on the islands to the mainland amid concern that the number of arrivals from nearby Turkey could continue to rise. More than 500 asylum-seekers arrived early Monday on ferries from the islands at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, and were being taken in buses to a newly setup camp in northern Greece. An expected incursion by Turkish forces into northeastern Turkey has increased concern in Greece that more refugees may try to reach the European Union following a summer surge in arrivals. French lawmakers are poised to debate immigration reform, taking up one of the country’s touchiest issues at a time when tent cities have expanded in cities across the country and asylum demands are spiking. Monday’s debate is part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s promise to confront the issue head-on during the second half of his presidency.

Demands for asylum have fallen across Europe since 2015 while continuing to rise in France. AGENCIES

prompted the phone call in which Trump asked Zelenskiy for a “favor” regarding Biden. Axios cited a source saying Trump said Perry had asked Trump to make the call to discuss “something about an LNG (liquefied natural gas) plant.”

While it’s unclear whether Trump’s remark Friday referred specifically to the behind-the-scenes maneuvers this spring involving the multibillion-dollar state gas company, The Associated Press has interviewed four people with direct knowledge of the attempts to influence Naftogaz, and their accounts show Perry playing a key role in the effort. Three of the four spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The fourth is an American businessman with close ties to the Ukrainian energy sector.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Energy Department said Perry, a former Texas governor and Republican presidential candidate, was not advancing anyone’s personal interests. She said his conversations with Ukrainian officials about Naftogaz were part of his efforts to reform the country’s energy sector and create an environment where Western

companies can do business.

The Trump and Giuliani allies driving the attempt to change the senior management at Naftogazt, however, appear to have had inside knowledge of the U.S. government’s plans in Ukraine. For example, they told people that Trump would replace the U.S. ambassador there months before she was actually recalled to Washington, according to three of the individuals interviewed by the AP. One of the individuals said he was so concerned by the whole affair that he reported it to a U.S. Embassy official in Ukraine months ago.

THE BUSINESSMEN: Ukraine, a resource-rich nation that sits on the geographic and symbolic border between Russia and the West, has long been

Austria’s Kurz given task of putting together new government VIENNA AGENCIES

Austrian center-right leader Sebastian Kurz embarked Monday on what could be the lengthy task of forming a new government, citing a looming economic downturn, unregulated migration and climate change among the challenges the next administration will face.

President Alexander Van der Bellen formally tasked Kurz, 33, with putting together a government after his People’s Party emerged from an election a week ago as the strongest by far. The resounding win left him poised to return to government after a scandal surrounding his junior partner in the last administration, the Freedom Party, led to the government’s collapse in May. Kurz can choose between reviving his previous coalition with the Freedom Party, forming a coalition with the center-left Social Democ-

rats, or allying with the resurgent Greens. Although Kurz is in a comfortable position, all three options carry risks. It is questionable how stable a new coalition with the Freedom Party would be, particularly after it suffered significant losses in the Sept. 29 election.

An alliance with the Social Democrats, a familiar and unloved combination that has frequently run post-World War II Austrian governments, could undermine Kurz’s image as a fresh face bringing change to the country. And Kurz might struggle to bridge policy differences with the Greens, who are confident after seeing their support soar and returning to parliament following a two-year absence. Kurz said he will open formal discussions with other party leaders this week.

“The biggest challenge that faces us immediately is the question of how best to deal with the looming economic downswing,” he said, pointing

to U.S.-Europe trade tensions, uncertainty over Brexit and weak economic data in bigger neighbor Germany.

He insisted that the new government must also continue to reduce Austrians’ tax burden. Kurz also said that “it will be important to continue along our determined path of combating illegal migration in Austria and in Europe,” which was a prominent feature of his previous government with the Freedom Party, and to take national and international action against climate change.

The non-partisan interim government of Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein, installed following a parliamentary no-confidence vote that brought down Kurz after he pulled the plug on his last coalition, will remain in place until a new administration is ready. Van der Bellen said he would be in regular contact with Kurz “over the coming days and weeks — I don’t want to talk about months” on his progress.

3 get Nobel Medicine prize for learning how cells use oxygen STOCKHOLM AGENCIES

Two Americans and a British scientist won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering how the body’s cells sense and react to oxygen levels, work that has paved the way for new strategies to fight anemia, cancer and other diseases, the Nobel Committee said.

Drs. William G. Kaelin Jr. of Harvard University, Gregg L. Semenza of Johns Hopkins University and Peter J. Ratcliffe at the Francis Crick Institute in Britain and Oxford University will share equally the 9 million kronor ($918,000) cash award, the Karolinska Institute said. It is the 110th prize in the category that has been awarded since 1901.

Their work has “greatly expanded our knowledge of how physiological response makes life possible,” the committee said, explaining that the scientists identified the biological machinery that regulates how genes respond to varying levels of oxygen.

That response is key to things like producing red blood cells, generating new blood vessels and fine-tuning the immune system. The Nobel Committee said scientists are focused on developing drugs that can treat diseases by either activating or blocking the body’s oxygen-sensing machinery.

The oxygen response is hijacked by cancer cells, for example, which stimulate formation of blood vessels to help themselves grow. And people with kidney failure often get hormonal treatments for anemia, but the work of the new laureates points the way toward new treatments, Nils-Goran Larsson of the Nobel committee told The Associated Press.

Reached at his home, Kaelin said he was half-asleep Monday morning when the phone rang. It was Stockholm.

“I was aware as a scientist that if you get a phone call at 5 a.m. with too many digits, it’s sometimes very good news, and my heart started racing. It

was all a bit surreal,” he said.

Kaelin said he isn’t sure yet how he’ll spend the prize money but “obviously I’ll try to put it to some good cause.”

Ratcliffe told Sweden’s news agency TT on Monday that “when I started my research I also had no idea that it would result in this.”

He added the impact of oxygen on cells “has not always been a trendy area to research, and some people have doubted them during the journey.”

Last year, James Allison of the United States and Tasuku Honjo of Japan won the 2018 Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work in immunother-

apy, activating the body’s natural defense system to fight tumors.

Monday’s announcement kicked off this year’s Nobel Prizes. The Nobel Physics prize is handed out Tuesday, followed by the chemistry prize on Wednesday. This year’s double-header Literature Prizes — one each for 2018 and 2019 — will be awarded Thursday and the Peace Prize will be announced on Friday.

The economics prize will be awarded on Oct. 14.

The 2018 Nobel Literature prize was suspended after a sex abuse scandal rocked the Swedish Academy, the body that awards the literature prizes, so they are awarding two prizes this year.

Prize founder Alfred Nobel — a Swedish industrialist and the inventor of dynamite — decided the physics, chemistry, medicine and literature prizes should be awarded in Stockholm, and the peace prize in Oslo. He also designated the institutions responsible for the prizes: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry; the Karolinska Institute is responsible for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; the Swedish Academy picks the Nobel Prize in Literature; and a committee of five people elected by the Norwegian Parliament decides who wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

plagued by corruption and government dysfunction, making it a magnet for foreign profiteers.

At the center of the Naftogaz plan, according to three individuals familiar with the details, were three such businessmen: two Soviet-born Florida real estate entrepreneurs, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, and an oil magnate from Boca Raton, Florida, named Harry Sargeant III. Parnas and Fruman have made hundreds of thousands of dollars in political donations to Republicans, including $325,000 to a Trump-allied political action committee in 2018. This helped the relatively unknown entrepreneurs gain access to top levels of the Republican Party — including meetings with Trump at the White House and Mar-a-Lago.

Johnson battles to surmount EU opposition to Brexit plan LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is making phone calls to other European Union leaders as he tries to overcome opposition to his Brexit deal. The EU has responded coolly to a U.K. plan to maintain an open Irish border after Britain leaves the 28-nation bloc. Both sides have agreed there must be no checks or infrastructure along the border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.’s Northern Ireland. Under the U.K. plan there would be customs checks, but Britain says they could be conducted away from the border.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said the EU will decide by the end of the week whether an amicable divorce deal is possible. Johnson is urging the bloc to compromise and says Britain will leave the EU on the scheduled date of Oct. 31, with or without a deal. AGENCIES

US most prolific serial killer has murdered at least 50: FBI WASHINGTON: A 79-year-old man murdered at least 50 people, making him the most prolific serial killer in US history, the FBI said Sunday. Samuel Little confessed to 93 homicides — mostly of women — between 1970 and 2005, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.

Although investigators have only confirmed his involvement in 50 of them, they believe all of Little’s confessions are credible. The FBI has set up a website showing his videotaped recollections of unidentified killings, alongside sketches — drawn by Little — of the people he claims to have murdered. “Many of his victims’ deaths, however, were originally ruled overdoses or attributed to accidental or undetermined causes. Some bodies were never found,” the FBI wrote on the website.

He was jailed for life in 2014 after being convicted of three murders. “For many years, Samuel Little believed he would not be caught because he thought no one was accounting for his victims,” FBI crime analyst Christie Palazzolo said. “Even though he is already in prison, the FBI believes it is important to seek justice for each victim — to close every case possible.” The former boxer, also known as Samuel McDowell, was first arrested in 2012 at a homeless shelter in Kentucky and extradited to California to face drug charges. Once there, DNA evidence linked him to three cold cases, leading to his 2014 conviction for the murder of three women in Los Angeles between 1987 and 1989. All three had been beaten and strangled. AGENCIES

Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

BUSINESS 11 FBR chairman directed to resolve NIC issue Senate’s Standing Committee on Commerce and Textile Industry Chairman Senator Mirza Muhammad Afridi has ackowledged the services rendered by the business community. He said that the limping economy can come out of the stagflation if businesses are allowed to operate, otherwise poverty, unemployment and anxiety with continue to increase. Presiding over a meeting, the Senator said that the tax system has pushed the business community to the edge, therefore, taxes must be reduced and the procedure should be made simple. He said that revenue cannot be increased amid shrinking GDP and the gulf between tax collectors and taxpayers is widening. He noted that costly energy, interest rates, absence of continuity in policies, and instability has broken the back of the business community while FBR is treating businessmen as enemies. The Senator noted that the business community is looking for resolution of their problems and they are not interested in hollow assurances. “If we failed to allay concerns of the business community, they would lose more in the export market while there is a possibility of an exodus of industries to other countries,” he warned. He observed that NIC condition has shaken the foundations of the economy and directed chairman FBR to find an acceptable solution within ten days. BUSINESS DESK

Unilever to halve use of new plastic Anglo-Dutch commercial giant Unilever said Monday it will cut its use of new plastic by half by 2025 as pressure grows on multinational companies to do more for the environment. The firm, which owns brands including Dove soap, Ben and Jerry's ice cream and Marmite, would cut annual use from the current 700,000 tonnes of a year to no more than 350,000 tonnes. "Plastic has its place, but that place is not in the environment. We can only eliminate plastic waste by acting fast and taking radical action at all points in the plastic cycle," Unilever chief executive Alan Jope said in a statement. Jope told the BBC that the company was also trying to remain relevant with younger, more environmentally-minded consumers. "We do believe in trying to remain relevant for younger groups of consumers, and we know that millennials and GenZennials, the next wave, really care about purpose and sustainability, and the conduct of the companies brands that they're buying," he told the broadcaster. Of the 350,000 tonnes of "virgin plastic" Unilever will cut, it said 100,000 tonnes will come from an outright reduction in the use of plastic packaging, for example by making reusable or refillable packs, using alternative packaging or "naked products" that use none at all. The other 250,000 of the reduction will come from using recycled plastics. AGENCIES

ExpERtS HIgHlIgHt tRadE oppoRtUNItIES FoR pakIStaN amId US-CHINa RIFt ‘higher tariff on Chinese produCts makes pakistani exports more Competitive in the us market’ ‘Chinese manufaCturers Can ward off punitive tariffs on their exports to us by reloCating their labour-intensive industries to pakistan’ BEIJING

E

INP

CONOMIC experts have hinted at emerging trade and business opportunities for Pakistan, following the US-China trade war.

According to Nomura Securities' strategists, Pakistan could potentially be the third most fortunate beneficiary in this feud.

Recently, Adviser to Prime Minister Abdul Razzak Dawood had also stated, "The trade war between China and the United States is getting bigger and bigger by the day… and the demand for goods is not declining (in the US market).

Pakistan needs to explore ways so that it can benefit from this war."

These controversial claims; however, have certain assumptions attached to them.

There are three possible ways that Pakistan can turn one of the greatest economic feuds into its favour and establish itself in the international market as a key player in world economics.

First of all, the high tariff on Chinese products in the US makes Pakistani exports more competitive in the US market.

It had always been very difficult to compete with Chinese products in any international market because of their low production costs due to cheap labour and economies of scale of Chinese firms.

However, the high tariffs have made these "cheap" Chinese products more expensive for the US buyers. Higher prices have led to a decrease in demand. This has left a gap that can be potentially filled by alternative sellers in the US market such as Pakistan.

Pakistan Business Council CEO Ehsan Malik said, "The China-US trade war has put Pakistan in an advantageous position and we have become more competitive than China in some areas like textiles. It offers an opportunity for Pakistan to boost its exports to the United States as well as revive the closed manufacturing capacity (mostly in Punjab)." Engineering, textile, surgical tools, sportswear, plastics, footwear,

LAHORE: Master Moltyfoam General Manager (Marketing) Asim Chaudhary and Pink Ribbon CEO Omar Aftab pose for a photo with distinguished guests during Pink Ribbon Illumination Ceremony at Minar-e-Pakistan Lahore. PR

ISLAMABAD Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has transferred its senior customs officer for writing a letter to Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh regarding the abolishment of internal audit directorates.

According to notification available with this scribe, Dr Akhtar Hussain, a BS-20 officer of Pakistan Customs, has been transferred from the Directorate of Internal Audit (Customs) Lahore to the Collectorate of Customs (Adjudication) Faisalabad.

Earlier, Dr Akhar Hussain had alleged that the abolishment of internal audit directorates had taken away from the Customs Internal Audit its capacity to detect custom officers' corruption.

"The Directorate of Internal Audit Karachi has been abolished to shelter those customs’ officers who are responsible for 90pc of corruption that takes take place throughout the country in a

year," he had alleged. "The Lahore directorate has been abolished for various reasons, all of which directed towards protecting the corruption from audit detections."

It is pertinent to mention that Dr Akhar Hussain had also faced demotion and transfer when he gave a decision against six sugar mills, including Chaudary Sugar Mill, for giving concession and illegal rebate on the export of sugar to Afghanistan.

ubl launches mobile contactless payments with gemalto, visa BUSINESS DESK

LAHORE: The three-day Global Street Food Festival concluded successfully at the Mall of Lahore. PR

LAHORE: A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) delegation, led by its chairman Ehsan Mani, met WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain at the WAPDA House. PR

less.

The inflow of Chinese investment will only be the start of a very fruitful ripple effect, as more foreign investors will be attracted to set up industries in Pakistan. With Pakistan’s geographical location, it could become a hot spot for future investments from all over the globe.

The US-China trade war has given Pakistan a golden opportunity that if used wisely could be an economic leap in Pakistan's history.

Pakistan could potentially end up with an increased amount of exports to the US, become a hot spot for international investments (especially from Chinese investors).

However, certain economic and political limitations might put a dent in how well this opportunity can be explored.

Thus, what the Pakistani government should do is closely analyze all developments in the US-China trade war and make numerous alternative plans of action, keeping in mind the geographic, political and economic feasibility.

Then the best course of action can be taken.

What Pakistan should not do is make rash decisions by overestimating their own potential and underestimating their limitations.

Similarly, Pakistan should also not underestimate its potential and overestimate its limitations. It should tread carefully over one of the biggest economic feuds in history and try to benefit from it in the best possible way.

Customs officer transferred for pointing out corruption in fbr SHAHZAD PARACHA

CORPORATE CORNER

fishery, packaging, pharma, kitchenware, furniture and jewellery are some of the types of Chinese products that have been subjected to the high US tariffs.

Out of these many Chinese products, Pakistan has the capacity to produce a substantial amount of products as exports for the US market. Of course, the production of items from each of these categories will depend on the availability of resources to Pakistani industries. For example, Pakistan has a flourishing industry for sportswear products.

The tariff war between China and the US could lead to potential industrial growth and inflow of foreign investment into Pakistan.

The PBC CEO said that the Chinese manufacturers can ward off punitive tariffs on their exports to the United States by relocating their labour-intensive industries to Pakistan. The US has put tariffs on Chinese products, i.e. products produced in China. Moving industries to Pakistan will be a trend in this case because of the recent economic goodwill established by CPEC. Such inflow of foreign investment would boost the economic growth of Pakistan as the national income of the country will increase.

These huge sums of foreign investment could lead to the establishment of Special Economic Zones in Pakistan. Establishment of these new industries will be closely linked to foreign investments in improving the infrastructure of the country to make long term production cost

UBL is the first bank in Pakistan who has partnered up with Gemalto, Visa and 1LINK to launch digital payment through tokenisation on the UBL Digital App. The aim is to offer traditional payment services into convenient, secure and rewarding digital payment experiences. With this ambition in mind, UBL will enable its customers to enjoy the freedom and convenience of secure payments, via the bank’s existing smartphone app by using Gemalto TTR (TSH – Token Requestor) based on HCE (Hosted Card Emulation) technology.

HCE is a technology that emulates a payment card on a mobile device. Tokenization replaces sensitive payment account information found on payment cards, such as the 16-digit account number, with a unique digital identifier called ‘token’, that can be used safely on smart phones or any device used to make a payment. The token allows the payments to be processed without exposing

the actual card data which can be otherwise potentially compromised.

UBL Innovation & Digital Transformation Head Muhammad Hamayun Sajjad emphasized, “This technology enables our customers to digitize their physical debit & credit card on Android handsets using UBL digital mobile App. The App will enable swift and straightforward frictionless payments throughout Pakistan – The benefits include advance security & data protection minimizing risk of card or personal details being hacked.”

UBL Digital Banking Group Executive Sharjeel Shahid on the occasion said, “We are making sure that with UBL Digital App we provide world class services to our customer base. Contactless transactions will provide seamless convenience & will further flourish the Digital payments in Pakistan. Innovation is at the core of everything we do. As a leading bank in Pakistan – we strongly believe that digitization of economy can be accelerated with initiatives like these.”

HSBC to cut up to 10,000 jobs in drive to slash costs HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) is planning to cut up to 10,000 jobs, more than 4% of its workforce, as interim Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn seeks to reduce costs across the banking group, the Financial Times reported The plan represents the lender's most ambitious attempt in years to cut costs, the newspaper said here citing two people briefed on the matter. It said the cuts will focus mainly on high-paid roles. HSBC declined to comment on the FT report.

The bank had 237,685 full-time employees at the end of June 2019, according to its 2019 interim report.

HSBC could announce the beginning of the latest cost-cutting drive and job cuts when it reports third-quarter results later this month, the FT said, citing one person briefed on the matter. Quinn became interim CEO in August after the bank announced the surprise departure of John Flint, saying it needed a change at the top to address “a challenging global environment.” Flint’s exit was a result of differences of opinion with chairman Mark Tucker over topics including approaches to cutting expenses, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters in August. Any job cuts implemented as part of the latest plan would come on top of the redundancies announced earlier, the FT said. HSBC said it would be laying off about 4,000 people this year, and issued a gloomier business outlook due to an escalation of a trade war between China and the United States, an easing monetary policy cycle, unrest in its key Hong Kong market and Brexit. Former HSBC Group CEO Stuart Gulliver announced plans to cut 30,000 jobs when he took the job in 2011 as part of a program to cut $3.5 billion in costs over three years and raise the bank’s return on equity to 12-15pc. AGENCIES

Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

12 BUSINESS the authority will Consist of a Chairperson, Ceo, two exeCutive direCtors and six members, to be appointed by pm for a period of 4 years ISLAMABAD

F

AHMAD AHMADANI

OLLOWING the reservations and demands raised by China, the federal government has established the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority through a presidential ordinance. The government on Monday forwarded the CPEC Authority draft to President Dr Arif Alvi for approval. The decision was taken in haste as no session of the National Assembly (NA) and Senate was held.

According to sources, the ordinance would be applicable across Pakistan and the office of the authority would be established in Islamabad.

“The Chinese side had wanted Pakistan to establish CPEC Authority to achieve the targets set under the CPEC Framework,” sources said, adding that the government has established the CPEC Authority in haste, as PM Imran Khan would reach China later in the day.

“The establishment of CPEC Authority through presidential ordinance has been made to apparently appease and lure Chinese companies,” sources maintained.

“There are sufficient chances that the Chinese government and businessmen will express their willingness to invest in Pakistan during the premier’s visit.”

It is pertinent to mention that the Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases (CCLC) had considered and recommended the draft legislation of

govt EStaBlISHES CpEC aUtHoRIty tHRoUgH pRESIdENtIal oRdINaNCE

CPEC Authority Ordinance.

The cabinet, in its meeting on 17th Sept, had approved in principle the recommendation of CCLC with regard to the establishment of CPEC Authority, subject to fine-tuning by the committee headed by the law and justice minister. The committee, after holding detailed deliberations in its meeting on 18th Sept, finalised the CPEC Authority Ordinance.

According to documents available with this scribe, “The authority shall be a corporate body, having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power, subject to the provisions of this ordinance, to enter into contracts, acquire and hold property, both moveable and immovable, and to sue and be sued in its name.”

The authority will consist of a chairperson, chief executive officer, executive director (operations), executive director (research) and six members to be appointed by the prime minister for a period of four years and shall be eligible for re-

appointment for one similar term.

The CEO will be a civil servant of BS-20 or above, who shall be appointed on deputation, while the qualification, experience and terms and conditions for appointment of the chairperson, executive directors and members shall be prescribed by rules. The chairperson, an executive director or a member may resign from his office by writing under his hand addressed to the prime Minister. The PM may remove the chairperson, executive director or member from office if, on an inquiry conducted by a person or persons designated with the approval of the PM, he is found inefficient or unable to perform the functions of his office due to mental or physical disability or to have committed misconduct.

In case of a vacancy occurring due to death, resignation, retirement or removal of the chairperson, executive director or member, the appointment of another qualified person shall be made within a period

not exceeding three months from the date of such vacancy.

The CEO shall act as chairperson at any time when the post is vacant or the chairperson is unable for any reason to exercise his powers or perform his duties.

An officer of the authority so nominated by it shall act as secretary to the authority. The secretary shall be the custodian of the common seal of the authority. The authority shall be primarily responsible for coordination, monitoring and evaluation to ensure implementation of CPEC activities. It shall exercise its powers and perform its functions in line with the framework and memorandum of understanding signed between Pakistan and China.

The federal government from time to time assigns more functions and issues guidelines to the authority, and the authority in respect of each financial year shall prepare its own budget in accordance with the prescribed procedure and

TAX LAWS AMENDED TO PROMOTE TRADE ACTIVITIES AT GWADAR PORT ISLAMABAD: In a bid to promote trade activities at Gwadar port, the government, through a presidential ordinance, has granted tax benefits to Chinese and other foreign firms by introducing certain amendments in the tax laws, Pakistan Today has learnt. Prior to Prime Minister Imran Khan's scheduled visit to China, the federal government has granted further tax exemptions which in result will promote trade and business activities at Gwadar port. The introduction of the presidential ordinance titled 'Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019' is expected to attract Chinese and other foreign investors to the Gwadar port. The Ministry of law and Justice on Monday published Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019, for general information, which was promulgated on Sunday by the President Dr Arif Alvi. According to an available copy of the presidential ordinance, "The Senate and National Assembly are not in session and the President of Pakistan is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action." So far, amendments in the Customs Act, 1969, Sales Tax Act, 1990, and Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (XLIX of 2001) have been made through Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019. It is pertinent to mention that with the publication of the presidential ordinance, Chinese and other firms have been given exemption of sales tax and income tax for their investment on Gwadar port and Gwadar free zone. Similarly, customs duty exemption for import of oil for ships and terminal has been granted for 40 years through the ordinance.

Moreover, income tax exemption has been granted for Gwadar Free Zone for a period of 23 years. AHMAD AHMADANI

ADB approves $200m additional financing loan for BISP BUSINESS DESK The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday approved a $200 million loan as additional financing to support the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

A press statement issued by the Manila-based lending agency noted that an ADB-financed Social Protection Development Project, approved in 2013, had enabled the enrollment of over 855,000 beneficiaries of the BISP. "The additional financing would continue to support cash transfers as well as help BISP implement institutional strengthening measures," said ADB Central and West Asia Director (Public Management) Tariq Niazi. "Social protection programmes like the BISP are crucial to ensure that

the poorest segments of the population do not go further into poverty, especially at a time when the country is facing difficult macroeconomic challenges." He said that the ADB was committed to helping the Pakistan government implement alternative modalities for social protection and poverty reduction such as asset transfer programs that promote improved human capital and reduce intergenerational poverty.

ADB Country Director for Pakistan Xiaohong Yang said the additional financing would support further institutional strengthening and improvements in financial management and controls in BISP. "A policy research unit will also be established within BISP to help monitor and improve the performance of ongoing programmes and design new cost-effective and evidence-based initiatives

such as poverty graduation programs and conditional cash transfers for health and nutrition in line with global best practices," he added.

Launched in 2008, BISP is a cash transfer poverty reduction program which comes under the umbrella of ‘Ehsaas Programme’ which was launched by PM Imran in March this year with the objectives of reducing inequality, investing in human resource, and to lift lagging districts.

Earlier, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged to provide Pakistan with an amount of $200 million for the implementation of the ‘Ehsaas Programme’ in the country next year.

Pakistan and the Gates Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) during a meeting in New York supporting the government’s initiative in alleviating poverty from the country.

MARKET DAILY

kse-100 gains another 603 points as rally continues KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Stocks rallied on first trading session of the week, as the indices continued to accumulate gains amid increased market participation. Foreign investors closed the previous week (September 30–October 4) as net sellers with an outflow of $4.70 million.

The jump came despite the upcoming Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary meeting, which would give its decision on Pakistan’s status in the grey list. Over the weekend, the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) on money laundering released its Mutual Evaluation report, saying Pakistan faced high risks of money laundering and terror financing and it needed to improve understanding of the risks, which were also linked with various terrorist groups operating in the country.

The report showed that out of FATF’s 40 recommendations on curbing money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism, Pakistan was fully or partially compliant with 36.

Meanwhile, investors remained hopeful of positive developments for Pakistan Prime Minister

Imran Khan’s visit to China.

Gaining 817.64 points, the KSE-100 marked its intraday high of 33,850.96. The index settled higher by 603.50 points at 33,636.82. The KMI-30 index surged by 1,054.32 points to settle at 53,859.95, while the KSE All Share Index ended at 24,248.22 after accumulating 275.75 points.

The overall volumes were recorded at 392.16 million (highest in one year). The Bank of Punjab

(BOP +7.68pc), Unity Foods Limited (UNITY +2.72pc) and K-Electric Limited (KEL +1.48pc) remained the volume leaders. The scripts had traded 39.95 million shares, 24.71 million shares and 16.88 million shares respectively.

Sectors that helped paint the index green included banking (+198.36 points), oil and gas exploration (+102.88 points) and cement (+67.06 points). As per reports, the government might focus on reviving the construction industry despite some pressure from the International Monetary Fund to bring down the development expenditure owing to shortfall in revenue targets.

The cement sector gained 2.85pc in its cumulative market capitalization. D G Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC +4.39pc), Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK +3.56pc), Cherat Cement Company Limited (CHCC +5.00pc) closed the session with decent gains.

Nishat (Chunian) Limited (NCL +1.21pc) released its financial performance for FY19. The company’s sales went up by 11pc but gross profit margins remained flat. A 117pc surge in other income pushed operating profit higher by 41pc.

shall maintain complete and accurate books of account of its actual expenses and receipts.

The budget prepared by the authority shall be reviewed by the budget committee consisting of three members to be nominated by the authority from amongst the executive directors and members. The budget committee shall ensure that the authority complies with all requirements of this ordinance.

All investments made by the authority shall be with the approval of the budget committee and the accounts of the authority shall be audited annually by the Auditor General of Pakistan while CEO shall be the principal accounting officer of the authority.

In addition to other powers and functions as assigned under the presidential ordinance and rules, the authority shall be primarily responsible for coordination, monitoring and evaluation to ensure implementation of CPEC related activities.

CPEC Fund shall vest in the authority and shall be utilized by the authority to meet all expenses and charges properly incurred in connection with carrying out the purposes of this ordinance.

The authority may open and maintain bank accounts as scheduled banks.

The chairperson and six other persons on the authority shall constitute the quorum for a meeting of the authority.

The authority shall meet at least once in a quarter. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the authority. The chairperson shall also call a meeting of the Authority within five working days of being requested in writing to do so by at least three persons from amongst the CEO, executive directors and members.

‘tax reforms help FBR achieve 90pc revenue target’ BUSINESS DESK Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Syed Shabbar Zaidi has said the government’s reforms to mobilise tax revenue are now paying dividends.

Speaking to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) VicePresident Zahid Hussain Kazmi, he said the FBR succeeded in achieving 90 per cent of tax collection target for the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal year, as Rs920 billion have been collected in taxes thus far. During the meeting, the FRB chairman and the PTI leader exchanged views on reforms by to government to improve the country’s tax collection system and to widen the tax base. Zaidi said the tax reforms introduced by the government enhanced domestic tax revenue by 25pc. Zahid Kazmi remarked that a fair tax collection system played a central role in economic growth, stressing the need to bring tax evaders to book so that Pakistan could stand on its feet. Earlier on Oct 4, the FBR chairman had said that it was incumbent on commercial users to get registered under income tax laws. Taking to the social media, Zaidi had said that the FBR was working diligently to increase the number of those registered under the income tax net. He had also revealed that an aggressive campaign would kickstart from October 15 to achieve the desired results.

ZtBl to issue loans for Rabi crops from 15th FAISALABAD APP

Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) will start issuing agri loans for Rabi crops under its onewindow operation system from October 15th. A ZTBL spokesman told APP on Monday that farmers that have 25 acres of irrigated land or 50 acres of arid land could apply for agri loan. “The agri loans would be provided under ‘one-window operation system’ within three days. For this purpose, focal persons have been appointed and revenue staff, including Patwari, Qanoongo, Naib Tehsildar and Tehsildar, will be available at One-Window Operation Center,” he added. Farmers who want to take loans can contact the nearest branch of ZTBL.

It’S tIMe to DIScuSS “Who Wear What” at KaShMIr huM aWarDS’2019

S

By Rohama Riaz

eeIng the whole wardrobe of the star-studded Kashmir Hum awards, it looks like the theme was pretty much Desi this time. no celebrity was found dressed according to the true essence of the red carpet. not even big fashion icons like ayesha Omar, Javaid Sheikh or Bushra ansari managed to bring something different than the usual. no one seemed to highlight or bring any new fashion trends. Is it because names like Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Sajjal ali or Maya ali were missing from the list?

Regardless of nothing new on our screens this time with bad lights and horribly designed aisle, we have chosen a few really good outfits worn by our favorite celebrities.

KINZA HASHMI Marwa Hocane’s chartreuse green lehnga & Choli was a simple yet sophisticated shot. as always, Mawra never goes wrong with the handbags and her moon-shaped clutch was definitely the center of attraction.

IQRA AZIZ

THE STORY BEHIND RUN MUREED HOTEL MULTAN

Despite being there for the first time, Kinza Hashmi’s outfit was way better than many attending this red carpet for years. We absolutely loved her powder pink net outfit with ruffles at the border making it a classic no. 1 hitting the red carpet.

AYESHA OMER

ayesha Omer rarely goes wrong with her wardrobe. Both the dresses red and white worn by her had nothing new to offer yet she made her look a fashion statement with her undying charm and snappy style.

HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD

KINZA HASHMI

M

ulTan is a dense populated city and famous for the historical places located inside the city. However, recently people throughout Pakistan started paying a lot of attention on a hotel in Multan. Run Mureed, as the translation of the name indicates a husband who has great fondness for his wife is a hotel. arushia, a girl in Multan tributes his father by opening a hotel named ‘Run Mureed is the founder of the hotel says that the reason behind naming the hotel Run Mureed is because her father has always been supportive towards her mother.

The hotel with its traditional set up is located near university of agriculture Multan and has been a great source of getting delicious food for the students of the university. The place inspires people to express themselves and support for their wives or loved ones freely. The kind of efforts give more open view to freedom of expression towards relationship and support for couples.

The courage of arushia shows that women can do anything if they take every step with a positive attitude. The question is for all of us that how do we represent our relation in front of our kids. www.scaryammi.com

REEMA KHAN

Reema Khan went for an extremely traditional all-white piece. Though she played safe, we loved her simple and full of elegance aura that still made the ordinary look stand out from the rest of the white ensembles.

So, these were the very few looks that managed to captivate our attention. What are yours?

Bella Thorne Teases Ghost Rider Following having first reported on the rumor that Bella Thorne is wanted as the female ghost Rider in the Marvel Cinematic universe, the 21-year-old actress took a screenshot of my article and shared it on her Instagram Story. an eagle-eyed Redditor managed to spot the Instagram story post from a couple of days ago.

Bella Thorne didn't comment on the rumor, but at the same time she also didn't shoot it down.

Whether that means Bella Thorne is actually up for the role or not or has been approached to play ghost Rider in the MCu is unknown. a rumor has it that Kevin Feige wants to use ghost Rider in the MCu, which interestingly enough preceded the news that the ghost Rider Hulu series has been canceled that was set to star gabriel luna from agents of SHIelD. The initial rumor and the news of the cancellation were then followed up with the Bella Thorne ghost Rider rumor, which offers the actress is wanted to play alejandra Jones. another possible contender could be the Dan Ketch ghost Rider, or Kevin Feige could be using a variety of ghost Rider characters in the MCu, which is similar to the comics.

Who did not love Iqra aziz’s seafoam green long dress embellished with frill and daintily garnished net on the front? She carried the look quite well with tied hair and minimal accessories. This has to be the best red carpet outfit out of all.

Joker Director Left Comedies Because of 'Woke' Culture

Priyanka Chopra: ‘I was thrown out of movies, I went home to my dad and cried’

Following the Joker director blaming the far left for the perceived controversy and outrage surrounding his new movie, now Todd Phillips says he left doing comedy films because of the "woke" culture.

Phillips directed comedies such as Old School, Road Trip, and Starsky and Hutch, as well as The Hangover films, which starred Bradley Cooper, who interestingly enough has joined Phillips on Joker as a producer.

Regaring the woke culture, it's a term connected to social justice warrior (SJW) issues and the left where anything that can be deemed offensive is offensive (including jokes).

Phillips blamed the far left for creating all the chaos surrounding the potential of violence the Joker movie may cause among people which saw the FBI respond, the u.S. military respond, The Dark Knight Rises shooting victims respond, as well as Warner Bros., with WB also booting the liberal media from the Red Carpet premiere and Joaquin Phoenix walking out of an interview.

Priyanka Chopra has come a long way indeed from the time when a producer told her that “you are an actress and actresses are replaceable”. actor, global icon and producer is just some of the few hats that she wears now.

However, in an interview to Pinkvilla, she accepted that when she was thrown out of films at the beginning of her career, it hit her hard. “I have been replaced and it has happened twice.

Once, a co-actor told me, and once, I read it in the newspaper. I went and cried to my father, why me? But then he told me what are you going to do about it? I just made sure to be excellent in my next film and learn the job well. even if the film doesn’t do well, I want to make sure that what I do is excellent,” she said that she decided not to be a “victim of her circumstances”.

Talking about how she deals with bad days, Priyanka said, “You take a couple of days to feel what you are feeling. I am strong because my parents raised me to be a strong woman but that doesn’t mean that I am not vulnerable, that doesn’t mean I don’t have dark days when I feel apologetic, stressed, sad, insecure, pressured.

CMYK

Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

14 SPORTS

Higuain winner BeatS inter to put JuventuS top of Serie a TURIN

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AGENCIES

ONZALO Higuain scored the winner as Juventus inflicted a first Serie A defeat of the season on Inter Milan with a 2-1 victory which sent the defending champions top on Sunday.

Substitute Higuain slotted home on 80 minutes after fellow Argentine Paulo Dybala had opened the scoring in the fourth minute at the San Siro.

Another Argentine forward Lautaro Martinez pulled Inter Milan level from the spot on 18 minutes, but coach Antonio Conte lost in his first meeting against his former club since leaving Juve to take over the Italy national team in 2014.

Juventus moved one point ahead of Inter after seven games as they target a ninth consecutive title, and first under Maurizo Sarri.

"Overtaking at the top is insignificant right now," said former Chelsea boss Sarri.

"The important things is that we showed a performance of character and personality against a strong team in a high-tension environment. We deserved to win."

Sarri started with Dybala and Federico Bernardeschi up front alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

Higuain -- who also scored in Juventus's 3-0 Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen during the week -- began on the bench.

The champions got off to a blistering start with Miralem Pjanic setting up Dybala who took Inter goalkeeper

Samir Handanovic by surprise.

Ronaldo rattled the crossbar and then had a goal ruled out when Dybala was in an offside position.

But Inter got back on level terms when Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt handled the ball, with Lautaro drilling past Wojciech Szczesny.

The hosts were hit with Stefano Sensi going off injured with Sarri making a double substitution after an hour bringing on in-form Higuain and Rodrigo Bentacur.

Ronaldo and Bentancur combined to send Higuain through for the winner, with Szczesny doing well to deny Matias Vecino as Inter desperately pushed forward for an equaliser.

"Juve showed their heavy artillery," said Conte, who coached the Turin giants to the first three of their current run of eight consecutive titles.

"Congratulations to them, we'll

roll up our sleeves now," added Conte whose side lost their midweek Champions League game to Barcelona 2-1.

Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta celebrated moving back to the newlynamed Gewiss Stadium with a 3-1 win over promoted Lecce that keeps the Bergamo side third on 16 points.

But Serie A runners-up Napoli are now six points behind Juventus in fourth following a goalless draw at Torino.

"We want to fight for the Scudetto, but our ranking makes us cry a little," said Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Roma are fifth, a point behind Napoli, with their match against Cagliari at the Stadio Olimpico finishing 1-1 after Nikola Kalinic's lastgasp goal for the hosts was disallowed.

"Sick and tired of this crap cost-

ing us games. Too many times already this year," said Roma owner Jim Pallotta on Twitter.

Joao Pedro's early penalty after a Gianluca Mancini handball was cancelled out by Luca Ceppitelli's own goal before half-time.

But what looked like a winner from Kalinic was disallowed without a VAR review for a foul on Fabio Pisacane which saw the Cagliari defender stretchered off.

Roma were furious with coach Paulo Fonseca and his deputy both banished from the sideline before the final whistle.

Roma stay a point ahead of city rivals Lazio, who drew 2-2 at Bologna with Serie A top scorer Ciro Immobile getting both goals for the visitors, to bring his tally to seven goals in as many games.

Lazio's Joaquin Correa missed a chance for the winner when he sent a penalty kick over the bar two minutes from time.

Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic -- a former Lazio player -- was back on the bench after undergoing a second round of chemotherapy to treat his leukaemia.

Both teams finished with 10 men after Lazio's Lucas Leiva was sent off on the hour mark with Bologna's Gary Medel following nine minutes later.

In Tuscany, Nikola Milenkovic nodded in the only goal after 72 minutes to give Fiorentina their third consecutive win as Udinese fell to their fourth defeat in seven games.

Fiorentina are eighth with Udinese a point above the relegation zone.

Murray climbs over 200 places as Djokovic stays top in ATP rankings LONDON AGENCIES

Former world number one Andy Murray climbed over 200 places in the new ATP rankings released on Monday while Novak Djokovic extended his lead over Rafael Nadal at the top.

Scotsman Murray, who is on the comeback trail after career-saving hip surgery, reached the quarter-finals of the China Open where he lost to eventual winner Dominic Thiem.

The run lifted the 32-year-old 214 places from 503 in the world to 289.

He can climb into the top 250 if he beats Juan Ignacio Londero later on Monday in the first round of the Shang-

hai Masters where Murray is a threetime champion.

Djokovic's win in Tokyo at the weekend means the Serb is at number one for the 271st week of his career, one more than Ivan Lendl and trailing only Roger Federer (310) and Pete Sampras (286).

Djokovic heads to Shanghai as defending champion while Nadal, his closest pursuer 1,140 points behind, has had to pull out with a wrist injury he picked up during last month's Laver Cup. Thiem's victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas in Beijing sees the Austrian close to just 50 points behind the Russian Daniil Medvedev.

Classy Barca run riot against Sevilla to give La Liga familiar look BARCELONA AGENCIES

Barcelona are back in form and La Liga’s big three are back at the top of the table after the defending champions put on a finishing masterclass to thrash Sevilla 4-0 on Sunday. Lionel Messi scored his first goal of the season by curling in a brilliant free-kick at Camp Nou after three goals in eight minutes from Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal and Ousmane Dembele had already put Sevilla out of sight. “It was crucial for us,” said coach Ernesto Valverde whose team ended the game with nine men. “It has been a strange start to the season and we have not added all the points we would have wanted.” Suarez launched the flurry, his stunning left-footed bicycle kick arguably even better than the volley he scored in the Champions League win over Inter Milan on Wednesday. Vidal then finished a superb passing move that involved all 11 Barca players and Dembele powered through to make it three before Messi added a fourth in the second half. The match descended into farce late on as Barcelona’s debutant Ronald Araujo was sent off and Dembele followed after collecting a second yellow card for dissent. The referee’s report said Dembele was dismissed for calling Mateu Lahoz “very bad”. He could now miss the Clasico on October 26. “Dembele’s is a mystery,” said Valverde. “It is very difficult to get words out of him in Spanish, so what he said couldn’t have been very long.”

By then, the game was long gone as victory pushed Barcelona up to second in the table, two points behind Real Madrid and one above Atletico, who could have done with some of the Catalans’ classy finishing in their goalless draw away at Real Valladolid. For all the turbulence and scrutiny on Valverde and Zinedine Zidane, Barca and Madrid head into the international break not only as the league’s two frontrunners but with confidence and momentum too. Eden Hazard scored his first goal for Madrid in their 4-2 win over Granada on Saturday and Barca’s star man is off the mark as well after his own injury-interrupted start to the season. This was Barcelona’s fourth consecutive victory. Messi’s return has increased the pressure on Antoine Griezmann, who was left out of the starting line-up following his quiet display against Inter. Dembele was preferred on the left of the front three. Sevilla, who drop to sixth, had eight shots to Barcelona’s seven in the first half but were three down at the break. Luuk de Jong is yet to score since his move from PSV Eindhoven last summer and the 29-year-old had four excellent chances to break his duck, three of them before Barca had taken the lead. He fired Lucas Ocampos’ pull-back straight at Marc-Andre ter Stegen, sidefooted wide and mistimed a header. In the second half, Arthur lost possession on the edge of his box but still De Jong could not capitalise, lashing his shot against the post. In between, Barca had already made him pay. Suarez’s effort was probably the pick of the trio in terms of difficulty, as he launched himself into the air, turned and threw his weaker left foot over the ball, and banged it into the net.

Bare knuckles to KO record for Myanmar woman breaking MMA mould NAYPYITAW AGENCIES

Myanmar's Bozhena Antoniyar had to side-step conservative parents to take up bare-knuckle fighting, but her stealth paid off on her MMA debut when she knocked out her opponent in a record 24 seconds.

Bozhena picked up Myanmar's brutal martial art of lethwei when she was 16, secretly attending training sessions. "(My parents) had never seen or heard of girls doing lethwei," the 24-yearold told AFP. "I had to trick them by saying I was playing football."

The diminutive 1.57 metre (5ft 2in) fighter holds the record for the fastest MMA bout for the Singapore-based One Championship, the sport's biggest promotion in Asia.

The bout ended at 24 seconds when Bozhena, sitting astride her opponent -compatriot Shwe Sin -- landed barrage of nine rapid punches to the head.

Bozhena, who goes by the nickname

Toto, trains in a humid Yangon gym where she pummels her coach with jabs and hooks while ducking counterpunches.

She will need to be on top form for her next outing at the end of this month against Indonesian star Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol at One Championship's card in Jakarta.

Bozhena hails from Myanmar's poor eastern Kayah state, where women are better known for using brass rings to elongate their necks rather than the traditional combat sport lethwei.

The bone-crunching Myanmar fighting style is considered one of the most aggressive in the world. Combatants eschew boxing gloves for thin gauze wrapped around hardened knuckles and headbutting is permitted.

Like many in Kayah state, the fighter's family are subsistence farmers.

"My parents live hand-to-mouth. That helped drive me to success," said Bozhena.

Her ambition to excel in MMA was

also inspired by the increasingly high profile of Myanmar-born fighters.

The most well-known -- and Bozhena's hero -- is Aung La Nsang, an ethnic Kachin nicknamed the "Burmese Python" who holds both middleweight and light heavyweight world titles for One Championship.

The 34-year-old was even voted 2019 International Fighter of the Year at Las Vegas-based World MMA Awards.

Bozhena's career is still in its infancy, but she is already proving a formidable foe. In a knuckle-biting battle in July against Vietnamese-American fighter Bi Nguyen, the judges favoured her in a split decision.

She has gained fans across Myanmar, including within her once-disapproving community, she says with a smile. "Now when I have a fight, my house is packed with people who come to watch," she said.

Social norms aside, Bozhena decries the lack of support for women wanting to get in the ring, saying men are more read-

CMYK

ily offered sponsorship deals and highprofile fights.

"There should be no gender discrimination," she said, explaining that was the reason she left the lethwei arena for

MMA. Despite the challenges the trailblazer vowed to fight on. "I miss the days when I could be beautiful and feminine, but I prefer the path I have chosen."

Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

SPORTS 15

Sri Lanka defeat pakiStan By 35 runS to CLaim t20 SerieS

LAHORE

S

AGENCIES

RI Lanka stunned Pakistan by 35 runs in the second Twenty20 international in Lahore on Monday. The visitors had set a target of 183 runs for Pakistan to save the series.

Rajitha sent Fakhar Zaman (6 runs) back to the pavilion while Pradeep took the wicket of Babar Azam (3 runs) in the third and fourth overs,

respectively. The eighth over of the innings was the most disastrous for the host team as Hasaranga dismissed Ahmed Shehzad (13), Umar Akmal (0) and skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed (26) on the third, fourth and sixth ball of the over.

Udana took the wicket of Imad Wasim (47) in the 16th over, while Pradeep sent Wahab Riaz (7) back on the last ball of the 17th over. Udana also dismissed Shadab Khan (0) on the first ball of the 18th over while Pradeep sent Asif Ali (29) and Mohammad Hasnain (1) away in the 19th over.

Earlier, Bhanuka Rajapaksa smacked an aggressive maiden half-century as the visitors made 182-6 against Pakistan.

The 27-year-old left-hander, playing only his second T20I, blasted 77 off 48 balls in an innings featuring six sixes and four boundaries after Sri Lanka won the toss and batted.

Rajapaksa added 94 for the third wicket with Shehan Jayasuriya, who made a 28-ball 34 with four boundaries.

Sri Lanka kept the same team which upset Pakistan, the world's number one T20 team, in the first match by 67 runs on Saturday.

The Green Shirts, who had never lost a T20 series in six attempts to Sri Lanka before today, brought in paceman Wahab Riaz and opener Fakhar Zaman in place of Iftikhar Ahmed and Faheem Ashraf.

The third and final match will be played at the same venue on Wednesday.

TEAMS PAKISTAN: Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Umar Akmal, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imad Wasim, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Shadab Khan SRI LANKA: Dasun Shanaka (captain), Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Minod Bhanuka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Isuru Udana, Nuwan Pradeep, Kasun Rajitha UMPIRE: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Ahsan Raza (PAK); Tv umpire: Shozab Raza (PAK); Match referee: David Boon (AUS)

'Humbled' Osaka reveals pressure of being number one BEIJING AGENCIES

Naomi Osaka has opened up on the immense pressure she placed on herself earlier this year that contributed to a slump in form and the loss of her top ranking. The 21-year-old Japanese continued her late season resurgence Sunday with victory over current number one Ashleigh Barty in Beijing's China Open final.

It meant back-to-back WTA Tour titles for Osaka, who won the Australian Open in January, but then failed to match those high standards at the next three Grand Slams. "I think this dip that I had really humbled me, it made me very motivated to be here right now," she said after coming back from a set down to defeat Australia's Barty.

Osaka, toppled as number one by Barty in June and now ranked third, said that after winning in Melbourne "I honestly was counting the ranking points. "I was too stats-oriented after I won the Australian Open because there was this big thing about you're number one now.

"Then I felt like I shouldn't lose a match after that." Osaka, who burst to the fore by beating Serena Williams to win the 2018 US Open, said that she is trying to "care" a little less to take the pressure off.

It is a mindset that helped her triumph in her

home Pan Pacific Open last month, but was not in evidence in the early stages against Barty.

Osaka said that she was so desperate to win the Beijing final that she was in tears as she lost the first set, although she managed to hide it well

and recovered her poise.

"Honestly, I don't think I'll ever feel the same way that I felt again right after Australia," she said of the sky-high expectations she placed on herself.

"There's no way, no way that's possible."

uS bag three more golds as worlds draw to close DOHA: Sprint hurdler Nia Ali led a final day gold rush for the United States as the curtain came down on the World Championships on Sunday. Ali powered to victory in the 100 metres hurdles to upset world record holder Keni Harrison with a time of 12.34sec at the Khalifa Stadium. "I've been training really hard, especially coming back from having my kids," said 30-year-old mother-of-two Ali, who was accompanied by both of her children on her lap of honour. "These ladies have been raising the bar all year so I knew what I had to do." Ali's win was one of three final day gold medals for the USA, who finished on top of the medal table with 14 golds, 11 silver and four bronze.

Kenya, meanwhile, finished in second spot with five golds, two silvers and four bronze. The final day's action drew a line under 10 days of competition at the championships, held in the Middle East for the first time. Despite problems at the start of the championships with sweltering heat and humidity and swathes of empty seats, Sunday's action played out to a packed house. "It is pretty clear to us that on athlete performance, this is the best world championships that we've ever had," International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Sebastian Coe told reporters. The United States' other gold medals came in the 4x400m relay events, with comfortable victories for their men's and women's quartets. The women's relay victory meant a second gold medal for Dalilah Muhammad, who swept to victory with a world record-breaking display in the 400m hurdles on Friday. Muhammad ran a blistering third leg for the USA to help set up a win in 3min 18.92sec. AGENCIES

england name Chris Silverwood as head cricket coach LONDON: England have named Chris Silverwood as their new head coach to replace Trevor Bayliss, who stepped down last month at the end of his contract. The 44-year-old has spent the past two years serving as fast bowling coach under Bayliss. Silverwood’s first competitive series will be England’s tour of New Zealand, which includes a five-match Twenty20 series starting in November and two Tests against the Black Caps. While former India and South Africa coach Gary Kirsten and Surrey's director of cricket Alec Stewart emerged as contenders to succeed Australian Bayliss, managing director of England men's cricket Ashley Giles described Silverwood as the "standout candidate."

"I believe he is what we need to take our international teams forward," he said. "He is somebody we know well, but it is his intimate understanding of our structures and systems and his close relationships with Test captain Joe Root and white-ball captain Eoin Morgan that will help us develop our plans for the next few years." "Ultimately, his highest quality is that he is a winner and that will be an important part of the job as we look to strive to become the most respected team in the world across all formats," he added. The 44-yearold, who played six Tests and seven one-day internationals for England between 1996 and 2002, coached Essex to the County Championship title in 2017 before joining the England set-up. AGENCIES

Battered South Africa need the Guardiola touch, says coach CAPE TOWN AGENCIES

Cricket coach Enoch Nkwe wants to channel the philosophy of title-laden football manager Pep Guardiola to turn the suffering South African side into a winning force. Following India's 203-run mauling of his team in the first Test on Sunday, captain Faf du Plessis and Nkwe pleaded for patience as the squad rebuilds after Dale Steyn's and Hashim Amla's retirement.

Nkwe, 36, said he wants to see South Africa follow Guardiola's innovative style and produce a brave team -- but he warned it would take time.

"What I want is this team to have the courage, in certain situations, to really back themselves," he said.

"I suppose that every coach that comes in has a different philosophy."

Nkwe has only an interim contract with South Africa so far, and was appointed for the Indian tour.

He caught the attention of the South African public and national federation after making a spectacular start as a coach, winning the four-day and T20 titles with the Highveld Lions in one year.

Nkwe said South Africa must "be able to control sessions a lot longer for period of time with both bat or ball.

"But also be a lot smarter and be very innovative in certain situations."

He said he was looking forward to how his team recovers from the past setbacks, and responds to each match.

The team put up a spirited fight before Mohammed Shami's 5-35 on the final day dealt a devastating blow to the tourists in Visakhapatnam.

Opening batsman Dean Elgar stood

out with his 160 in South Africa's first innings score of 431.

Nkwe said Guardiola has a knack of improving systems, and admires his total

CMYK

passion for football -- something that resonated with his love for cricket.

"I feel I have so much to offer to the game, especially back in our country."

Nkwe's dream was to make a difference in people's lives, he said, and feels now he can.

"I will keep driving forward to ensure that the team keeps growing, keeps believing in themselves that they canachieve greater heights."

Nkwe, who played only 42 first class games in the South African provinces before injury cut short his career, said the challenge of touring India will define the team's character in the coming years.

"My biggest focus is to help this team create a strong foundation. We have lot of work behind the scenes [so] that this team grows in the next four years," he said.

"Ultimately it's about the big picture and we need to be patient with players that might take a bit of time to produce the type of performances we are looking forward to.

Tuesday, 8 October, 2019

NEWS

nawaz challenges sc verdict in arshad Malik video case ISLAMABAD

i

privilege of the petitioner. The review petition nominates judge Arshad Malik and others as parties in the case.

According to the plea, the apex court had passed a verdict on the case without listening to and notifying the petitioner.

The plea, which seeks that the court listen to Nawaz Sharif over the video scandal, argued that the court decided the parameters of the issue without listening to Sharif. The viewpoint of the former premier should be listened to fulfill the

STAFF REPORT

NCARCERATED former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday filed a review petition in the Supreme Court (SC) against its verdict in the Arshad Malik video scandal case.

Advocate Khawaja Haris submitted the plea on behalf of Nawaz Sharif, contending that the decision has affected the

prerequisite of justice, the review petition says. It has asked the apex court to review its decision in the case as well as court observations against the petitioner.

The apex court, in its August 23 verdict, had wrapped up a set of petitions on the video leak scandal involving former accountability court judge Arshad Malik.

We find that it may not be an appropriate stage for this court to interfere in the matter of the relevant video and its effects since the video may have relevance

to a criminal appeal presently sub judice before the Islamabad High Court (IHC), the judges had said in the detailed verdict.

“The relevant video cannot be of any legal benefit to Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif unless it is properly produced be-

Pakistan rubbishes Indian defence minister’s FATF remark ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday rejected the Indian defence minister’s recent remark that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) could “blacklist Pakistan for terror financing at any time”.

According to a press release issued by the FO spokesperson, Rajnath Singh’s statement “reinforces Pakistan’s concerns, repeatedly highlighted to the FATF membership, about India’s

attempts to politicise the FATF proceedings to further its narrow, partisan objectives”. As per Indian media reports, on October 1, Singh said: “The FATF can [at] any time blacklist Pakistan for terror financing.”

The FO press release added that “India’s incessant smear campaign against Pakistan and blatant partisanship” called into question its credentials to be a co-chair of the Asia-Pacific Joint Group that reviews Pakistan’s progress in implementing the FATF action plan.

no talks with india until kashmir situation improves, PM imran tells us senators ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan said Monday talks with India were out of question in the ongoing situation in occupied Kashmir since India revoked its special status in August. The PM said there would be no talks with India during a meeting with United States Senators Chris Van Hollen and Maggi Hassan, who met to share their observations with the prime minister about their recent visit to Azad Kashmir. The premier said India PM Narendra Modi has distorted the face of India in front of the whole world, adding that he is not certain himself of the current face of India. PM Imran said he was the biggest supporter of Pakistan-India talks; however, it is impossible until the situation is changed for the better in occupied Kashmir. The premier also thanked the US senators for cooperation on the issue of Kashmir. US Senator Chris Van Hollen was this week refused entry into Indian-occupied Kashmir during a trip to India, according to a report in American news publication The Washington Post. Hollen is part of a group of US Senators who have expressed serious concern over the alarming human rights situation in occupied Kashmir, which has been under a military curfew since August 5. US Congress members Tahir Javed and US charge d affairs Paul Jones were also a part of the delegation. A subcommittee of the United States House of Representatives will on October 22 hold a hearing on the human rights violations being carried out

by India in occupied Kashmir.

“Our concerns in this regard have been previously brought to the attention of FATF members,” the FO spokesperson added, while expressing hope that the FATF would take notice of India’s “continuing malicious campaign” against Pakistan and reject any attempt that was aimed at politicising FATF proceedings.

“It is important for FATF to ensure that the process remains fair and unbiased,” the press release stated. The FO clarification comes a week ahead of FATF’s review meetings in Paris between Oct 13-18 that will determine whether Pakistan should remain or move out of the grey list or be put on the blacklist. In an exclusive interview with Al-Jazeera TV in September, Prime Minister Imran Khan alleged that New Delhi was trying to bankrupt Pakistan

and push it into the FATF blacklist.

Meanwhile, a Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) released on Sunday by the Asia Pacific Group (APG) — a regional affiliate of the FATF — showed that Pakistan was “non-compliant” on four out of 40 recommendations of the APG on the effectiveness of the antimoney laundering and combating the financing of terrorism system.

Read: Significant improvements in fight against money laundering, terror financing The report based on Pakistan’s performance as of October 2018 showed that the country was fully “compliant” only on one aspect relating to financial institutions secrecy laws. It was found “partially compliant” on 26 recommendations and “largely compliant” on nine others.

JUI-F denies issuing 'instructions' on sodomy during 'Azadi March' ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) on Monday denied the authenticity of three documents which circulated on social media earlier in the day, hinting that the party was endorsing homosexuality in its upcoming Azadi March.

The first document was a notice allegedly issued by the party, outlining 10 instructions the participants of the march. The sixth point stated that no participant should engage in homosexuality without prior approval from their regional leaders.

“The participants will completely refrain from engaging in sodomy without the permission of their emir [leader]. The violators of this instruction would be thrown out of the sit-in and their belongings will be seized,” the notice said. The second document was an alleged application form for those who wish to seek permission to engage in sodomy during the Azadi March. The alleged application form asks for particulars of the individuals along with prior history of homosexual experiences.

The third document, the authenticity of which was denied by Islamabad district commissioner (DC) in a tweet, was a notice issued to the authorities and religious bodies on the basis of above-mentioned document, stating that since homosexuality is forbidden in Islam, nobody would be allowed to engage in this act.

“Homosexuality is strictly prohibited in Islam and hence cannot be tolerated in any form, whether in a

Bilawal asks PM to fulfill ProMise of Providing food, containers to Protesters Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Monday that the ‘selected government’ should step down before the end of the year. Speaking on the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) ‘Azadi March’, the PPP chairman said that he is lending political and moral support to Fazl. Bilawal said that if the options continued to shrink then his party would have no option other than to take an extreme step such as to hold protest in Islamabad. While referring to PM Imran’s earlier statement about giving food and container to demonstrators, Bilawal said that now Maulana Fazl is going to march and the prime minister should fulfill his words. Earlier, the PPP chairman sought an explanation from the Foreign Office during a session of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee for Human Rights, about an earlier statement of the PM related to Al-Qaeda. Following which the FO officials explained that the statement of the prime minister was being taken out of context.

political gathering or during private meetings,” the notice read.

“Islamabad City Police have received several complaints from the citizens in which they expressed their concerns over a possible massive wave of homosexuality in Islamabad after a political gathering planned on October 27,” the notice added. “It is hereby announced that the city officials will enforce Pakistan’s law and the regulations set out in Islam and the workers of the political party are advised to retain from such sinful deeds during their gathering,” the notice concluded.

The Islamabad DC also said that a First Information Report (FIR)

was being registered against the issuance of the fake notice.

Speaking to Pakistan Today, JUIF Senator Hafiz Hamdullah “cursed” those who had prepared these “fake” documents. He claimed that some elements were running a malicious campaign against his party to slander the upcoming Azadi March. “The same elements behind the country’s economic destruction are running this malicious campaign,” he said. JUI-F will hold an anti-government march towards Islamabad on October 7.

They are expected to be joined by other opposition parties in a bid to overthrow the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) government.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk

CMYK

fore the Islamabad High Court, Islamabad in the pending appeal, its genuineness is established and then the same is proved in accordance with the law for it to be treated as evidence in the case,” the verdict had read.

taliBan say afghanistan has freed several of its Prisoners KABUL: Taliban officials say several of the group’s members have been freed from Afghan jails, including former shadow governors, the first move of its kind since a peace deal that seemed imminent was declared “dead” and just days after a United States envoy met top Taliban leaders in the Pakistani capital.

The officials also said the Taliban have released three Indian engineers they had been holding, though that has yet to be confirmed by New Delhi or the Afghan government. The Taliban officials spoke on Sunday on the condition of anonymity because they were not cleared by their leadership to speak to the media. Shadow governors in northeastern Kunar province and southwestern Nimroz province, Sheikh Abdul Rahim and Maulvi Rashid, were among the Taliban freed, the officials said. The Taliban have established a shadow government throughout the country and in areas, under their control, they have even established courts. The Associated Press contacted both Afghanistan’s defense department and the president’s office but they declined to comment. US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met last week with the Taliban’s top negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the hardline Taliban movement and head of a Taliban delegation that visited Islamabad. The Taliban said they were in Islamabad to discuss the condition of roughly 1.5 million Afghan refugees living in the city. US officials said Khalilzad was in Islamabad to follow up on talks he held in September in New York with Pakistani officials, including Prime Minister Imran Khan. The US insisted Khalilzad was not in Pakistan to restart peace talks — at least not yet.

But the Taliban and Pakistan confirmed the two sides met. The meeting is significant and the first Khalilzad has held with the Taliban since last month when US President Donald Trump declared a deal that seemed done, but for the signing, “dead”, blaming an uptick in violence by the Taliban, that included the death of a US soldier. Still, Trump said he wants to exit Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war, and withdraw its 14,000 troops. He has criticised the Afghan government for not doing more to defend Afghanistan and relying on US and Nato troops to police the country. While details of Khalilzad’s meeting with the Taliban have been sketchy, there have been reports that the two sides did discuss prisoner exchanges, with the freedom of two professors — an American and an Australian — of the American University in the Afghan capital featuring in the discussions. American professor Kevin King, and Australian, Timothy Weeks were kidnapped in Kabul on August 7, 2016. The Taliban have released videos of the two men and have said their conditions have deteriorated. AGENCIES